A 2015 project examining the role of political influence in California government.
'Behested Payments' Let Private Groups Curry Favor with Politicians -- New Law Will Limit Disclosure
In Sacramento, Limits Are Few on Revolving Door Between Government and Private Jobs
When Time Runs Short in Sacramento, Proposed Laws Appear in a Flash
Bill Looks to Put State Lobbying Laws on Par With Local Rules
$240 Million Education Contract Illustrates State Lobbying Loopholes
Local Governments Spend Big to Influence Sacramento
We Ask California Legislators: Do You Help Draft Bills for Influential Groups?
Details Hidden on Legislative Lawyers Drafting Bills for Influential Groups
California Interest Groups Hedge Their Bets, Give Cash to Anyone In Power
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"disqusTitle": "'Behested Payments' Let Private Groups Curry Favor with Politicians -- New Law Will Limit Disclosure",
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"content": "\u003cp>AT&T. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Chevron. Indian gaming tribes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It sounds like a who’s who list of campaign contributors -- and it is. But these groups also excel at another type of giving, one that’s often overlooked and is about to get a little less transparent: \u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/index.php?id=499\" target=\"_blank\">Behested payments\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong> The top behested payment fundraisers since 1997:\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Jerry Brown: $30,240,411\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Arnold Schwarzenegger: $13,404,775\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Brian Maienschein: $12,679,880\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Rob Bonta: $4,254,716\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Tom Torlakson: $3,756,543\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Darrell Steinberg: $3,351,538\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Jackie Speier: $3,304,855\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Don Perata: $2,465,660\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Gray Davis: $1,863,623\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Dennis Hollingsworth: $1,767,884\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It’s no secret to even casual political observers that politicians raise money for their own campaigns. But once they’re in office, elected officials in California can also use their clout to help raise cash for pet projects outside of state government. Gov. Jerry Brown has \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/08/local/la-me-brown-charities-20110808\" target=\"_blank\">directed the bulk\u003c/a> of his $30 million in behested payments to two Oakland charter schools. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has funneled most of his $3.7 million to the Department of Education and \u003ca href=\"http://cdefoundation.org/\" target=\"_blank\">a nonprofit that supports\u003c/a> the state department he oversees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amount they can raise for these private groups is unlimited -- but officials must file reports when the donations top $5,000 from a single source in one year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the donations add up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, politicians have directed more than $120 million to private groups since state ethics regulators started requiring disclosure in 1997 -- $28 million this year alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics say the payments may go to good causes, but are simply another way for special interest groups -- largely powerful corporations with business before state government -- to curry favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228671046\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not quid pro quo,” said Kathay Feng, executive director of the government accountability group California Common Cause. “But there clearly is an expectation that if I give this large amount of money, you are going to pay attention, and I am probably going to have an easier time being able to come into your office and talk to you than a local constituent who didn't give a dollar.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with a swipe of his pen, the governor just severely limited what has to be disclosed. Last week, Brown signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1544\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Bill 1544\u003c/a>, which removed a special category of lawmaker requests from disclosure requirements: Those that cover when an elected official lobbies a government agency to give taxpayer money to a private company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These sorts of payments have ballooned in recent years as the available money for grants and tax breaks rose -- this year, it topped $15 million, accounting for more than half of behested payments disclosed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-10718785\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder-400x866.png\" alt=\"Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder\" width=\"400\" height=\"866\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder-400x866.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fair Political Practices Commission -- the state ethics watchdog agency that oversees campaign finance, behested payments and other financial disclosures -- opposed the changes implemented in AB1544.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to look at it like a triangle. It's not just a public official asking for government money -- it’s where does the money end up,” said FPPC chair Jodi Remke. “When a public official is asking a government agency to give money to a for-profit organization, I think the public has a right to know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remke said her concern isn’t simply about whether a conflict exists now, but whether it could arise down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it’s who’s getting the money and why are they getting it?” she said. “(If) an official wants to make sure this particular company gets all this money, well, would I be surprised or would you be surprised if this official goes and works for that company in a year or two?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, was one of the lawmakers who reported helping secure public funds for a private business this year, the very kind of money that lawmakers won't have to disclose under the provisions of AB 1544. Bonta wrote a letter in support of giving a biofuel company in his district a $3.4 million grant from the California Energy Commission -- and soon after, received two campaign contributions from leaders of the company that won the grant, Viridis Fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta said he initially sent a letter simply calling on the commission to fund a biofuels company in the Bay Area, because all the grants in recent years went to other areas of the state. He said he filed the behested payment report out of an “abundance of caution” and probably didn’t even need to, because Viridis hasn’t actually received any of the money yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">'It’s not quid pro quo, but there clearly is an expectation that if I give this large amount of money, you are going to pay attention .' \u003ccite>Kathay Feng, California Common Cause\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Still, Bonta defended his vote on the floor of the Assembly for AB1544, saying the burden of disclosure should be on the state agency in these types of cases -- not the elected official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the disclosure is appropriate and fine. The public should have access to information anytime a legislator is influencing or making a request to help get a government grant,” he said. “I just don’t think the assemblymember should be the one burdened with the report, for very practical reasons. There are times when we put in a request and we don’t know what happens yet, and we shouldn’t have the burden of having to monitor a state department or agency to check.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"1YvJipdhchnj2HW7ytsEk9Pr2El3idqf\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But FPPC chair Remke said it’s unreasonable to think the public would have the time or expertise to monitor every government agency and to know when to inquire about an elected official’s influence on a particular grant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a member of the public, how am I going to find what that official did, unless that official has to to report it?” she said. “The best way to trace money from for-profit entities or government entities is by doing it through the official that you are interested in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feng agreed, saying the change in law means that it’s impossible for the public to scrutinize the giveaway of millions of public dollars. She also wasn’t surprised that a KQED News analysis found the most prolific behested payment donors, other than government agencies, are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/14/california-interest-groups-hedge-their-bets-give-campaign-cash-to-anyone-in-power/\" target=\"_blank\">the same businesses and tribes that hedge their bets when it comes to political donations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'I think the disclosure is appropriate and fine ... I just don’t think the Assembly member should be the one burdened with the report.\" \u003ccite>Assemblyman Rob Bonta\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“The thing that drives us crazy, when it comes to campaign finances and behested payments, the problem is, the people making laws -- the legislators -- and those that have the most influence on those laws -- special interest groups -- also have the ability to craft those laws in a ways that can hide those relationships,” Feng said. “It is pretty maddening they have made a mockery of California disclosure laws by creating carve-outs that allow them to not to have to disclose how they are spending public money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feng noted that there have been abuses in the past, including when former \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/02/local/me-nunez2\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez received blowback\u003c/a> for funneling money from corporate and labor groups with business before the Legislature to a tiny charity that threw events that carried his name and helped raise his political profile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Bonta said bringing resources to constituents is part of a lawmakers’ job, noting he’s helped raise money for community events, including one that gave low-income kids glasses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That's what we are supposed to be doing. We are supposed to be putting glasses on kids who don't have access to care,” he said. “And if I can help bring a mobile eye clinic because I am a legislator and I could reach out to someone who can provide those services, to bring them into the district, I mean, I think I should. I think my constituents expect me to do that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Lisa Pickoff-White and Guy Marzorati contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>AT&T. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Chevron. Indian gaming tribes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It sounds like a who’s who list of campaign contributors -- and it is. But these groups also excel at another type of giving, one that’s often overlooked and is about to get a little less transparent: \u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/index.php?id=499\" target=\"_blank\">Behested payments\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong> The top behested payment fundraisers since 1997:\u003c/strong>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Jerry Brown: $30,240,411\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Arnold Schwarzenegger: $13,404,775\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Brian Maienschein: $12,679,880\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Rob Bonta: $4,254,716\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Tom Torlakson: $3,756,543\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Darrell Steinberg: $3,351,538\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Jackie Speier: $3,304,855\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Don Perata: $2,465,660\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Gray Davis: $1,863,623\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Dennis Hollingsworth: $1,767,884\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It’s no secret to even casual political observers that politicians raise money for their own campaigns. But once they’re in office, elected officials in California can also use their clout to help raise cash for pet projects outside of state government. Gov. Jerry Brown has \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/08/local/la-me-brown-charities-20110808\" target=\"_blank\">directed the bulk\u003c/a> of his $30 million in behested payments to two Oakland charter schools. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has funneled most of his $3.7 million to the Department of Education and \u003ca href=\"http://cdefoundation.org/\" target=\"_blank\">a nonprofit that supports\u003c/a> the state department he oversees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The amount they can raise for these private groups is unlimited -- but officials must file reports when the donations top $5,000 from a single source in one year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the donations add up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, politicians have directed more than $120 million to private groups since state ethics regulators started requiring disclosure in 1997 -- $28 million this year alone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics say the payments may go to good causes, but are simply another way for special interest groups -- largely powerful corporations with business before state government -- to curry favor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228671046&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228671046'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not quid pro quo,” said Kathay Feng, executive director of the government accountability group California Common Cause. “But there clearly is an expectation that if I give this large amount of money, you are going to pay attention, and I am probably going to have an easier time being able to come into your office and talk to you than a local constituent who didn't give a dollar.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And with a swipe of his pen, the governor just severely limited what has to be disclosed. Last week, Brown signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1544\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Bill 1544\u003c/a>, which removed a special category of lawmaker requests from disclosure requirements: Those that cover when an elected official lobbies a government agency to give taxpayer money to a private company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These sorts of payments have ballooned in recent years as the available money for grants and tax breaks rose -- this year, it topped $15 million, accounting for more than half of behested payments disclosed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder.png\">\u003cimg class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-10718785\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder-400x866.png\" alt=\"Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder\" width=\"400\" height=\"866\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder-400x866.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Total_Behested_Payments_by_Year_Amount_chartbuilder.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Fair Political Practices Commission -- the state ethics watchdog agency that oversees campaign finance, behested payments and other financial disclosures -- opposed the changes implemented in AB1544.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to look at it like a triangle. It's not just a public official asking for government money -- it’s where does the money end up,” said FPPC chair Jodi Remke. “When a public official is asking a government agency to give money to a for-profit organization, I think the public has a right to know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remke said her concern isn’t simply about whether a conflict exists now, but whether it could arise down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So it’s who’s getting the money and why are they getting it?” she said. “(If) an official wants to make sure this particular company gets all this money, well, would I be surprised or would you be surprised if this official goes and works for that company in a year or two?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, was one of the lawmakers who reported helping secure public funds for a private business this year, the very kind of money that lawmakers won't have to disclose under the provisions of AB 1544. Bonta wrote a letter in support of giving a biofuel company in his district a $3.4 million grant from the California Energy Commission -- and soon after, received two campaign contributions from leaders of the company that won the grant, Viridis Fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bonta said he initially sent a letter simply calling on the commission to fund a biofuels company in the Bay Area, because all the grants in recent years went to other areas of the state. He said he filed the behested payment report out of an “abundance of caution” and probably didn’t even need to, because Viridis hasn’t actually received any of the money yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">'It’s not quid pro quo, but there clearly is an expectation that if I give this large amount of money, you are going to pay attention .' \u003ccite>Kathay Feng, California Common Cause\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Still, Bonta defended his vote on the floor of the Assembly for AB1544, saying the burden of disclosure should be on the state agency in these types of cases -- not the elected official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the disclosure is appropriate and fine. The public should have access to information anytime a legislator is influencing or making a request to help get a government grant,” he said. “I just don’t think the assemblymember should be the one burdened with the report, for very practical reasons. There are times when we put in a request and we don’t know what happens yet, and we shouldn’t have the burden of having to monitor a state department or agency to check.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But FPPC chair Remke said it’s unreasonable to think the public would have the time or expertise to monitor every government agency and to know when to inquire about an elected official’s influence on a particular grant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As a member of the public, how am I going to find what that official did, unless that official has to to report it?” she said. “The best way to trace money from for-profit entities or government entities is by doing it through the official that you are interested in.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feng agreed, saying the change in law means that it’s impossible for the public to scrutinize the giveaway of millions of public dollars. She also wasn’t surprised that a KQED News analysis found the most prolific behested payment donors, other than government agencies, are \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/14/california-interest-groups-hedge-their-bets-give-campaign-cash-to-anyone-in-power/\" target=\"_blank\">the same businesses and tribes that hedge their bets when it comes to political donations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">'I think the disclosure is appropriate and fine ... I just don’t think the Assembly member should be the one burdened with the report.\" \u003ccite>Assemblyman Rob Bonta\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“The thing that drives us crazy, when it comes to campaign finances and behested payments, the problem is, the people making laws -- the legislators -- and those that have the most influence on those laws -- special interest groups -- also have the ability to craft those laws in a ways that can hide those relationships,” Feng said. “It is pretty maddening they have made a mockery of California disclosure laws by creating carve-outs that allow them to not to have to disclose how they are spending public money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feng noted that there have been abuses in the past, including when former \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2007/nov/02/local/me-nunez2\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez received blowback\u003c/a> for funneling money from corporate and labor groups with business before the Legislature to a tiny charity that threw events that carried his name and helped raise his political profile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Bonta said bringing resources to constituents is part of a lawmakers’ job, noting he’s helped raise money for community events, including one that gave low-income kids glasses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That's what we are supposed to be doing. We are supposed to be putting glasses on kids who don't have access to care,” he said. “And if I can help bring a mobile eye clinic because I am a legislator and I could reach out to someone who can provide those services, to bring them into the district, I mean, I think I should. I think my constituents expect me to do that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Lisa Pickoff-White and Guy Marzorati contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "In Sacramento, Limits Are Few on Revolving Door Between Government and Private Jobs",
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"content": "\u003cp>To the old saying that \"It's not what you know, it's who you know,\" there's an addendum in the world of Sacramento insiders: It's also for whom you worked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And more often than not in the community surrounding the state Capitol, those with real influence have worked a lot of places.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In this town, what's interesting is one minute you're an advocate and the next minute, you're the decision-maker,\" says Richard Costigan. \"And then you're going to rotate back out.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228512601\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Costigan, a registered lobbyist and former legislative affairs secretary to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is one of countless men and women in state government circles whose influence has grown with each new job. And while that may not be unlike other walks of life, there are nonetheless rules regarding the \"revolving door\" between public and private sector employment -- rules put in place to avoid any chance that public policy decisions are tainted by undue influence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is somewhat different than just a private individual changing jobs,\" said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola School of Law in Los Angeles and president of the city's ethics commission. \"The revolving door is more like a swing right now, where you can run through it pretty easily.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real question, say observers, is whether that influence should be better disclosed to the public. Unlike the private sector, where it's mainly one's Rolodex that gets packed into a moving box, public sector officials also bring with them at least some of the secret recipes into how government really works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do Existing Limits On Influence Work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's only about three people who actually understand this stuff,\" said Gov. Jerry Brown as he signed a package of midyear budget changes on March 23, 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And one of the three people the governor was clearly referring to was standing beside him: his legislative affairs secretary, Gareth Elliott. It was Elliott's job to help Brown sift through hundreds of bills that would be either signed into law or vetoed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10718323\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-800x541.jpg\" alt=\"Gareth Elliott (R) hands Gov. Jerry Brown paperwork during a bill signing on March 24, 2011. A powerful lobbying firm announced Elliott would be joining their team just days after Elliott left the Brown administration.\" width=\"800\" height=\"541\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10718323\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-800x541.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-400x271.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-1440x974.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-1180x798.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-960x650.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gareth Elliott (R) hands Gov. Jerry Brown paperwork during a bill signing on March 24, 2011. A powerful lobbying firm announced Elliott would be joining their team just days after Elliott left the Brown administration. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A well-respected veteran adviser to Democrats in Sacramento, Elliott served as Brown's top legislative aide for almost four years. This past January, he left the administration. And like so many others in Sacramento, he became a lobbyist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citing his \"extensive previous experience,\" \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/285066381/Gareth-Elliott-Announcement\" target=\"_blank\">partners in the powerful lobbying firm Sacramento Advocates issued a press release within days announcing that Elliott would be joining their firm\u003c/a> -- a firm, said the statement, \"whose clients have long included some of the nation's largest and most widely recognized businesses, trade associations and non-profit entities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elliott did not respond to requests for comment on this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while state regulations require a one-year ban on lobbying for the state's highest-ranking officials -- legislators, agency secretaries and top gubernatorial aides -- the restriction is limited only to lobbying the branch of government for which the ex-employee used to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, a former adviser to a governor can immediately lobby the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That's certainly an indication that the restrictions aren't particularly stringent,\" said Loyola Law School's Levinson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does The Former Job Help? Maybe\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A half-dozen former legislators or top government officials were contacted for this story, and most declined to speak about their transitions from public to private sector work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those who did disputed any assertion that their inside expertise led to significant victories for the interest groups that they count as clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10718258\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10718258\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-800x725.jpg\" alt=\"Former state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, seen here in 2009.\" width=\"800\" height=\"725\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-800x725.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-400x362.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-1440x1304.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-1180x1069.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-960x870.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, seen here in 2009. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\"I still think, at the end of the day, that good public policy wins,\" said Costigan, the former Schwarzenegger-adviser-turned-lobbyist. \"Do you get the benefit of the doubt, because of a relationship, if the policy is close? Maybe.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others say that experienced hands can help steer all sides of complex policy debates to a successful compromise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are different ways to participate and have an impact,\" said Darrell Steinberg, the former leader of the state Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steinberg, who left office last year due to term limits, is now a partner in a law firm that touts its ability to help Fortune 500 clients navigate governmental and legal affairs in Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Somebody said to me before I left,\" said Steinberg, \"that when you leave public office you lose your authority, but you don't necessarily lose your power.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics, though, contend that power may be a public asset that translates into personal profit. Several insiders contacted for this story said the real reason that so many influential people travel through the Capitol's revolving door is to make up for years of small salaries paid by working in state service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"qA0XnM5eHIh6PbmpYGVx49Wmlavqw9cy\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others dispute the allure of a bigger paycheck. Bill Emmerson made headlines in 2013 when he resigned his state Senate seat representing parts of San Bernardino County and was quickly hired as a senior vice president of the California Hospitals Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did he leave for the money?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"No,\" said Emmerson in an interview. \"I just have had a long history in health care policy issues, and I wanted to continue.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Limits Vs. Disclosure\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The existing \"revolving door\" regulations designed to lessen the private-sector benefit of public -ector experience are limited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one-year ban on legislators or top executive branch officials covers only registered lobbying, not any number of other influential posts. Neither former senator, Steinberg nor Emmerson, is a registered lobbyist and they say they have no intention of becoming one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is no restriction on one particularly influential pool of state employees: legislative staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Top aides to members of the state Assembly and Senate can, and do, move freely between their jobs in the statehouse and jobs as lobbyists, strategists and advocates. A KQED News analysis of existing staff rosters finds more than two dozen of the Legislature's most high-ranking positions -- chief of staff and top consultant to a legislative committee -- have resumes with influential stints working for labor unions, energy companies, trade associations and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That stands in contrast to \"revolving door\" regulations in local governments across the state. The city of Los Angeles imposes a two-year ban on elected officials being paid to influence a city agency. And San Francisco and Santa Clara counties impose lifetime lobbying bans for a former employee when it comes to items they worked on during their time with their county tenure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the end, though, the rules may do less to lessen the flexing of political muscle for personal profit than simple disclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When it comes to the revolving door, we are drawing these lines that just allow for an enormous amount of influence-peddling to still occur,\" said Loyola law professor Levinson. \"Part of this is, there is no perfect law.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producer Guy Marzorati contributed to this report. Exclusive animation by Mark Fiore.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To see other stories in the KQED News series on government influence, visit the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/political-muscle\" target=\"_blank\">California Political Muscle homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>To the old saying that \"It's not what you know, it's who you know,\" there's an addendum in the world of Sacramento insiders: It's also for whom you worked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And more often than not in the community surrounding the state Capitol, those with real influence have worked a lot of places.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In this town, what's interesting is one minute you're an advocate and the next minute, you're the decision-maker,\" says Richard Costigan. \"And then you're going to rotate back out.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228512601&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/228512601'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Costigan, a registered lobbyist and former legislative affairs secretary to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is one of countless men and women in state government circles whose influence has grown with each new job. And while that may not be unlike other walks of life, there are nonetheless rules regarding the \"revolving door\" between public and private sector employment -- rules put in place to avoid any chance that public policy decisions are tainted by undue influence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This is somewhat different than just a private individual changing jobs,\" said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola School of Law in Los Angeles and president of the city's ethics commission. \"The revolving door is more like a swing right now, where you can run through it pretty easily.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real question, say observers, is whether that influence should be better disclosed to the public. Unlike the private sector, where it's mainly one's Rolodex that gets packed into a moving box, public sector officials also bring with them at least some of the secret recipes into how government really works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do Existing Limits On Influence Work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's only about three people who actually understand this stuff,\" said Gov. Jerry Brown as he signed a package of midyear budget changes on March 23, 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And one of the three people the governor was clearly referring to was standing beside him: his legislative affairs secretary, Gareth Elliott. It was Elliott's job to help Brown sift through hundreds of bills that would be either signed into law or vetoed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10718323\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-800x541.jpg\" alt=\"Gareth Elliott (R) hands Gov. Jerry Brown paperwork during a bill signing on March 24, 2011. A powerful lobbying firm announced Elliott would be joining their team just days after Elliott left the Brown administration.\" width=\"800\" height=\"541\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10718323\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-800x541.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-400x271.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-1440x974.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-1180x798.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/BrownSigningWGareth-960x650.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gareth Elliott (R) hands Gov. Jerry Brown paperwork during a bill signing on March 24, 2011. A powerful lobbying firm announced Elliott would be joining their team just days after Elliott left the Brown administration. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A well-respected veteran adviser to Democrats in Sacramento, Elliott served as Brown's top legislative aide for almost four years. This past January, he left the administration. And like so many others in Sacramento, he became a lobbyist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citing his \"extensive previous experience,\" \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/285066381/Gareth-Elliott-Announcement\" target=\"_blank\">partners in the powerful lobbying firm Sacramento Advocates issued a press release within days announcing that Elliott would be joining their firm\u003c/a> -- a firm, said the statement, \"whose clients have long included some of the nation's largest and most widely recognized businesses, trade associations and non-profit entities.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elliott did not respond to requests for comment on this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while state regulations require a one-year ban on lobbying for the state's highest-ranking officials -- legislators, agency secretaries and top gubernatorial aides -- the restriction is limited only to lobbying the branch of government for which the ex-employee used to work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, a former adviser to a governor can immediately lobby the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That's certainly an indication that the restrictions aren't particularly stringent,\" said Loyola Law School's Levinson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Does The Former Job Help? Maybe\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A half-dozen former legislators or top government officials were contacted for this story, and most declined to speak about their transitions from public to private sector work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But those who did disputed any assertion that their inside expertise led to significant victories for the interest groups that they count as clients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10718258\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10718258\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-800x725.jpg\" alt=\"Former state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, seen here in 2009.\" width=\"800\" height=\"725\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-800x725.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-400x362.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-1440x1304.jpg 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg.jpg 1920w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-1180x1069.jpg 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/10/Steinberg-960x870.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg, seen here in 2009. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\"I still think, at the end of the day, that good public policy wins,\" said Costigan, the former Schwarzenegger-adviser-turned-lobbyist. \"Do you get the benefit of the doubt, because of a relationship, if the policy is close? Maybe.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others say that experienced hands can help steer all sides of complex policy debates to a successful compromise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are different ways to participate and have an impact,\" said Darrell Steinberg, the former leader of the state Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steinberg, who left office last year due to term limits, is now a partner in a law firm that touts its ability to help Fortune 500 clients navigate governmental and legal affairs in Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Somebody said to me before I left,\" said Steinberg, \"that when you leave public office you lose your authority, but you don't necessarily lose your power.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics, though, contend that power may be a public asset that translates into personal profit. Several insiders contacted for this story said the real reason that so many influential people travel through the Capitol's revolving door is to make up for years of small salaries paid by working in state service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others dispute the allure of a bigger paycheck. Bill Emmerson made headlines in 2013 when he resigned his state Senate seat representing parts of San Bernardino County and was quickly hired as a senior vice president of the California Hospitals Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did he leave for the money?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"No,\" said Emmerson in an interview. \"I just have had a long history in health care policy issues, and I wanted to continue.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Limits Vs. Disclosure\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The existing \"revolving door\" regulations designed to lessen the private-sector benefit of public -ector experience are limited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one-year ban on legislators or top executive branch officials covers only registered lobbying, not any number of other influential posts. Neither former senator, Steinberg nor Emmerson, is a registered lobbyist and they say they have no intention of becoming one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there is no restriction on one particularly influential pool of state employees: legislative staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Top aides to members of the state Assembly and Senate can, and do, move freely between their jobs in the statehouse and jobs as lobbyists, strategists and advocates. A KQED News analysis of existing staff rosters finds more than two dozen of the Legislature's most high-ranking positions -- chief of staff and top consultant to a legislative committee -- have resumes with influential stints working for labor unions, energy companies, trade associations and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That stands in contrast to \"revolving door\" regulations in local governments across the state. The city of Los Angeles imposes a two-year ban on elected officials being paid to influence a city agency. And San Francisco and Santa Clara counties impose lifetime lobbying bans for a former employee when it comes to items they worked on during their time with their county tenure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the end, though, the rules may do less to lessen the flexing of political muscle for personal profit than simple disclosure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When it comes to the revolving door, we are drawing these lines that just allow for an enormous amount of influence-peddling to still occur,\" said Loyola law professor Levinson. \"Part of this is, there is no perfect law.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producer Guy Marzorati contributed to this report. Exclusive animation by Mark Fiore.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To see other stories in the KQED News series on government influence, visit the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/political-muscle\" target=\"_blank\">California Political Muscle homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "When Time Runs Short in Sacramento, Proposed Laws Appear in a Flash",
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"content": "\u003cp>At this time of year, when California lawmakers are rushing to pass bills before the end of the legislative session, they often resort to a gruesome-sounding tactic: the “gut and amend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process of emptying an existing Assembly or Senate bill of its language -- the gutting -- and then shoving it full of brand new language -- the amending -- has been around for more than a century in Sacramento, says legislative historian Alex Vassar. It's noted as being a favorite tactic of the powerful railroads in the early days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many lawmakers say “gut and amend” gives them the flexibility to adapt to the politics of the moment. But critics say that flexibility comes at the expense of transparency, denying the public a chance to see what its elected representatives are really doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Gut-and-amend bills are tantamount to 'bait-and-switch schemes,\" said Kathay Feng, executive director of \u003ca href=\"http://www.commoncause.org/states/california/press/press-releases/california-common-cause-calls.html\" target=\"_blank\">California Common Cause\u003c/a>, a nonprofit government watchdog group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The continued use of the gut-and-amend process is, in part, due to the relatively strict deadlines by which legislation must be introduced and then vetted through committees in both houses at the state Capitol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"t51cUq7lQykCiXy9hjMrIP6vG7ZWjJBF\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case in point: 2014's \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/1/\" target=\"_blank\">Proposition 1\u003c/a> water bond. The $7.5 billion borrowing plan was placed on the ballot by the Legislature through a bill enacted on August 13, 2014. While lawmakers and interest groups had been haggling for months, the actual bill language of wasn't in print until the very same day that it was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the bill that contained the water bond -- \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_1451-1500/ab_1471_bill_20140813_amended_sen_v96.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Bill 1471\u003c/a> -- was a proposal related to the sale of fireworks \u003cem>until just two days\u003c/em> before it quickly sailed through the Assembly and Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But other examples, critics argue, point to the fact that bypassing the bill deadlines allows influential groups to ask for special favors without much public scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a number of examples of those kinds of gut-and-amend efforts: The \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/03/local/la-me-0903-stadium-legislation-20110903\" target=\"_blank\">2011 effort to fast-track an NFL stadium in Los Angeles\u003c/a>; a \u003ca href=\"http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/state/20070911-1943-ca-xgr-legislativerdp.html\" target=\"_blank\">2007 attempt to provide a pay raise to correctional officers\u003c/a>; and this year's fast dash for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/09/01/californias-ban-on-kangaroo-products-would-be-blocked-under-last-minute-legislation\" target=\"_blank\">permanently allowing the import of products made from the skins of kangaroos\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Efforts to limit the gut-and-amend process have consistently failed to gain traction. The most widely supported of these would require all legislation be in print for at least three days before a vote, thus giving the public a chance to review the details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A constitutional amendment to do that was introduced in Sacramento in January, but \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=aca_1&sess=CUR&house=B&author=olsen_%3Colsen%3E\" target=\"_blank\">failed to ever get a committee vote\u003c/a>. Meantime, a similar proposal by a former legislative leader is now \u003ca href=\"http://www.fixcal.org/a/dtd/The-Public-s-Right-to-Know-Act/95843-34555\" target=\"_blank\">a finalist in the \"Fix California\" contest\u003c/a> being led by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who's promised to help the winning idea get on the statewide ballot as an initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some Capitol watchers, though, suggest that the gut-and-amend procedure would likely fizzle out if only lawmakers will take a second look at their rigid schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Until we see comprehensive reform to the legislative calendar,\" said Phillip Ung of the bipartisan group \u003ca href=\"http://www.cafwd.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Forward\u003c/a>, \"gut and amends will continue.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To see other stories in the KQED News series on government influence, visit the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/political-muscle\" target=\"_blank\">California Political Muscle homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At this time of year, when California lawmakers are rushing to pass bills before the end of the legislative session, they often resort to a gruesome-sounding tactic: the “gut and amend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process of emptying an existing Assembly or Senate bill of its language -- the gutting -- and then shoving it full of brand new language -- the amending -- has been around for more than a century in Sacramento, says legislative historian Alex Vassar. It's noted as being a favorite tactic of the powerful railroads in the early days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many lawmakers say “gut and amend” gives them the flexibility to adapt to the politics of the moment. But critics say that flexibility comes at the expense of transparency, denying the public a chance to see what its elected representatives are really doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Gut-and-amend bills are tantamount to 'bait-and-switch schemes,\" said Kathay Feng, executive director of \u003ca href=\"http://www.commoncause.org/states/california/press/press-releases/california-common-cause-calls.html\" target=\"_blank\">California Common Cause\u003c/a>, a nonprofit government watchdog group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The continued use of the gut-and-amend process is, in part, due to the relatively strict deadlines by which legislation must be introduced and then vetted through committees in both houses at the state Capitol.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Case in point: 2014's \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/1/\" target=\"_blank\">Proposition 1\u003c/a> water bond. The $7.5 billion borrowing plan was placed on the ballot by the Legislature through a bill enacted on August 13, 2014. While lawmakers and interest groups had been haggling for months, the actual bill language of wasn't in print until the very same day that it was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the bill that contained the water bond -- \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_1451-1500/ab_1471_bill_20140813_amended_sen_v96.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Bill 1471\u003c/a> -- was a proposal related to the sale of fireworks \u003cem>until just two days\u003c/em> before it quickly sailed through the Assembly and Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But other examples, critics argue, point to the fact that bypassing the bill deadlines allows influential groups to ask for special favors without much public scrutiny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a number of examples of those kinds of gut-and-amend efforts: The \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/03/local/la-me-0903-stadium-legislation-20110903\" target=\"_blank\">2011 effort to fast-track an NFL stadium in Los Angeles\u003c/a>; a \u003ca href=\"http://legacy.utsandiego.com/news/state/20070911-1943-ca-xgr-legislativerdp.html\" target=\"_blank\">2007 attempt to provide a pay raise to correctional officers\u003c/a>; and this year's fast dash for \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/09/01/californias-ban-on-kangaroo-products-would-be-blocked-under-last-minute-legislation\" target=\"_blank\">permanently allowing the import of products made from the skins of kangaroos\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Efforts to limit the gut-and-amend process have consistently failed to gain traction. The most widely supported of these would require all legislation be in print for at least three days before a vote, thus giving the public a chance to review the details.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A constitutional amendment to do that was introduced in Sacramento in January, but \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=aca_1&sess=CUR&house=B&author=olsen_%3Colsen%3E\" target=\"_blank\">failed to ever get a committee vote\u003c/a>. Meantime, a similar proposal by a former legislative leader is now \u003ca href=\"http://www.fixcal.org/a/dtd/The-Public-s-Right-to-Know-Act/95843-34555\" target=\"_blank\">a finalist in the \"Fix California\" contest\u003c/a> being led by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who's promised to help the winning idea get on the statewide ballot as an initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some Capitol watchers, though, suggest that the gut-and-amend procedure would likely fizzle out if only lawmakers will take a second look at their rigid schedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Until we see comprehensive reform to the legislative calendar,\" said Phillip Ung of the bipartisan group \u003ca href=\"http://www.cafwd.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Forward\u003c/a>, \"gut and amends will continue.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To see other stories in the KQED News series on government influence, visit the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/political-muscle\" target=\"_blank\">California Political Muscle homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Our California Political Muscle series has recently explored both the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/08/13/240-million-education-contract-illustrates-state-lobbying-loopholes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hidden elements of how businesses lobby to win state government contracts\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/08/12/local-california-governments-spend-big-to-influence-sacramento-lawmakers/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who employs lobbyists in Sacramento\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A bill moving through the California Legislature that would force disclosure around lobbying for state contracts would put California in a group of just 18 states that require disclosure of procurement lobbying — which sounds good until you consider that a number of local communities have had similar rules on the books for years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Assembly Bill 1200 \u003c/a>, one of hundreds of bills awaiting final action when lawmakers return next week, would expand existing lobbying laws to include state government contracts. The law would apply to anyone who pays a lobbyist more than $2,000 a month or has someone on staff whose primary job is to lobby government officials.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, state ethics laws only require disclosure of lobbyists paid to help influence legislation or state regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If AB 1200 passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the state would only just now be catching up to practices long established at the local level. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Four of California’s six largest counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, and Santa Clara — have lobbying ordinances that specifically include\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">contracts when it comes to disclosing the use of paid lobbyists. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Los Angeles County, which has thousands of contracts on the books on everything from groundskeeping to armed security guards, has even built its disclosure law into the process of applying for a contract to provide county services. Each applicant must certify that they are aware of the registration and disclosure requirements that the county places on lobbyists. Breaking the lobbying law in LA County has consequences: The firm or person seeking the contract is disqualified from contention. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The state’s largest cities also already regulate contract lobbying the same way that AB 1200’s author, Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D -Menlo Park), hopes to enact at the state level. For many of those cities, this kind of disclosure requirement is nothing new. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”ywdD3BNSW19dvummwJkg26leAeQasulG”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stacey Fulhorst, executive director of the San Diego Ethics Commission, led an overhaul of the city’s lobbying ordinance in 2007 but says lobbying for contracts has been on the city books at least since the 1990’s. She says it’s “surprising” the state hasn’t adopted a similar provision. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fulhorst also learned in the three years it took to overhaul San Diego’s laws the difficulty in tailoring lobbying laws so that routine communication isn’t discouraged. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We didn’t want to have to include a citizen contacting a representative about a street light,” she says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For that reason, most city and county lobbying rules allow for communications — within the normal bid submission process — between vendors and the local governments they are hoping to supply with services. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even smaller counties with fewer contracts have seen the need to have some kind of disclosure requirement to make sure big deals aren’t won with behind-the-scenes activity. In 1983, Santa Cruz County was considering the idea of entering into an exclusive cable television agreement with a single provider. County supervisors passed an ordinance that would require lobbyists to register during the bidding process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But according to Santa Cruz County spokesman Rayne Marr, the ordinance “is a relic of the past” and is no longer used. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some counties instead rely on a series of ethics laws around the procurement process. These can govern the acceptance of gifts from applicants, or they set guidelines for appropriate contact with current service providers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But without the registration of lobbyists, the counties and cities, like the state of California, are left unable to fully account for the contacts made and conversations that lead up to the awarding of thousands of taxpayer-funded contracts.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Our California Political Muscle series has recently explored both the \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/08/13/240-million-education-contract-illustrates-state-lobbying-loopholes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hidden elements of how businesses lobby to win state government contracts\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/08/12/local-california-governments-spend-big-to-influence-sacramento-lawmakers/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">who employs lobbyists in Sacramento\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A bill moving through the California Legislature that would force disclosure around lobbying for state contracts would put California in a group of just 18 states that require disclosure of procurement lobbying — which sounds good until you consider that a number of local communities have had similar rules on the books for years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1200\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Assembly Bill 1200 \u003c/a>, one of hundreds of bills awaiting final action when lawmakers return next week, would expand existing lobbying laws to include state government contracts. The law would apply to anyone who pays a lobbyist more than $2,000 a month or has someone on staff whose primary job is to lobby government officials.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, state ethics laws only require disclosure of lobbyists paid to help influence legislation or state regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If AB 1200 passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Jerry Brown,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the state would only just now be catching up to practices long established at the local level. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Four of California’s six largest counties — Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, and Santa Clara — have lobbying ordinances that specifically include\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">contracts when it comes to disclosing the use of paid lobbyists. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Los Angeles County, which has thousands of contracts on the books on everything from groundskeeping to armed security guards, has even built its disclosure law into the process of applying for a contract to provide county services. Each applicant must certify that they are aware of the registration and disclosure requirements that the county places on lobbyists. Breaking the lobbying law in LA County has consequences: The firm or person seeking the contract is disqualified from contention. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The state’s largest cities also already regulate contract lobbying the same way that AB 1200’s author, Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D -Menlo Park), hopes to enact at the state level. For many of those cities, this kind of disclosure requirement is nothing new. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stacey Fulhorst, executive director of the San Diego Ethics Commission, led an overhaul of the city’s lobbying ordinance in 2007 but says lobbying for contracts has been on the city books at least since the 1990’s. She says it’s “surprising” the state hasn’t adopted a similar provision. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fulhorst also learned in the three years it took to overhaul San Diego’s laws the difficulty in tailoring lobbying laws so that routine communication isn’t discouraged. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We didn’t want to have to include a citizen contacting a representative about a street light,” she says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For that reason, most city and county lobbying rules allow for communications — within the normal bid submission process — between vendors and the local governments they are hoping to supply with services. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even smaller counties with fewer contracts have seen the need to have some kind of disclosure requirement to make sure big deals aren’t won with behind-the-scenes activity. In 1983, Santa Cruz County was considering the idea of entering into an exclusive cable television agreement with a single provider. County supervisors passed an ordinance that would require lobbyists to register during the bidding process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But according to Santa Cruz County spokesman Rayne Marr, the ordinance “is a relic of the past” and is no longer used. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some counties instead rely on a series of ethics laws around the procurement process. These can govern the acceptance of gifts from applicants, or they set guidelines for appropriate contact with current service providers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But without the registration of lobbyists, the counties and cities, like the state of California, are left unable to fully account for the contacts made and conversations that lead up to the awarding of thousands of taxpayer-funded contracts.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This is one of two stories that look at California's largest lobbying player -- local governments -- and the lack of transparency in how private companies lobby for state government contracts. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/1HJ8E84\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cem>Read Part 1 here.\u003c/em> \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When California education officials \u003ca href=\"http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr15/agenda201505.asp\" target=\"_blank\">awarded\u003c/a> a $240 million, three-year contract to conduct Common Core testing for millions of school children this spring, they said it was an open and competitive process -- and that \u003ca href=\"https://www.ets.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Educational Testing Service\u003c/a>, the winning company, simply had the best proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone agrees the process was so open, nor do they agree that ETS was the clear choice. And several weeks of KQED News questions about the contracting process ended without a full set of answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/219067611\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's murky disclosure laws make it nearly impossible to know exactly what kinds of work private companies do to influence how thousands of state government contracts are awarded, including whether those same companies seek advantages at every step of the process with behind-the-scenes lobbying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/manuals/7-05lobbymanual.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Existing state law generally limits the disclosure of influence\u003c/a> to anyone being paid to advocate for changes in state law or regulations, the traditional kind of lobbying that’s largely focused around the work of the California Legislature and the executive branch. But a private company looking to influence the awarding of a state contract by one of dozens of state agencies and departments isn’t held to the same standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means conversations between advocates and key decision-makers about the roughly 100,000 state contracts handed out each year -- worth some $12 billion in taxpayer funds in 2014 and an average of $34 billion a year since 2010 -- remain in the shadows, far from public scrutiny. The totals were culled from a\u003ca href=\"http://www.dgs.ca.gov/pd/Programs/eprocure/SCPRSData.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> state Department of General Services database\u003c/a> that does not include contracts worth less than $5,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"600\" height=\"371\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bxPDbzrZzR_7pYIqbmpECMNkadh2qGslcaXtuuPFILk/pubchart?oid=1803940951&format=interactive\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"600\" height=\"371\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bxPDbzrZzR_7pYIqbmpECMNkadh2qGslcaXtuuPFILk/pubchart?oid=606977930&format=interactive\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003csmall>These numbers were culled from a California Deptartment of General Services database. The totals may be incomplete as DGS depends on departments and agencies to self-report their own totals and doesn't request information on state contracts worth less than $5,000. The numbers represent the total amounts awarded, not paid out, in a calendar year.\u003c/small>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These kinds of conversations are common knowledge among Sacramento insiders. And while many prominent lobbying firms in the capital city even \u003ca href=\"http://www.capitoladvocacy.com/services-solutions/procurement/\" target=\"_blank\">advertise their expertise\u003c/a> in helping to secure lucrative contracts, they are nonetheless allowed to keep that part of their business a secret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gary Winuk, the former chief enforcement officer for \u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">California's Fair Political Practices Commission\u003c/a>, said more than two dozen states and the federal government require disclosure of lobbying efforts to win government contracts. So do nearly all of California’s big cities and counties -- including San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To me it always seemed like a common sense idea,” Winuk said. “The same reason you want it for bills, you want it for (contracts), because you want to see out in the open who’s trying to influence who and if there are any indications that people aren’t working on behalf of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Winuk helped write a legislative attempt to tackle the issue, \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1200\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Bill 1200\u003c/a> by Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), which is pending in the state Senate as legislators return from summer recess next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"You want to see out in the open who’s trying to influence who and if there are any indications that people aren’t working on behalf of the public.” \u003ccite>Gary Winuk, former ethics officer\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>AB 1200 would expand state lobbying disclosure laws to include contracts. If it’s ultimately signed into law, private companies and organizations that hire lobbyists would have to disclose how much they are spending to influence which contracts -- the same way they have to divulge which legislation and regulations they seek to impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone thinks there needs to be more transparency. Jim Sutton, a San Francisco lawyer who works on campaign finance and lobbying issues, said that AB 1200 has “surface appeal,” but won’t really give Californians any more information than they have under existing law. Sutton argues that it’s already clear who wants to influence a contracting process: the companies that bid on the contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You know who is influencing the process,” Sutton said. “You know who the companies are and frankly whether it's through a public records request for emails or the bid itself, you are going to know who is working on it, or if they have hired a lobbyist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That wasn’t our experience, however, when we started digging into the circumstances surrounding the Common Core testing contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘They Are Going to Have Some Advantages’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, it wasn’t surprising the California State Board of Education decided to award the Common Core contract to ETS in April. The New Jersey nonprofit has a long and lucrative history with the department, one worth $800 million over the past 15 years. ETS has held the state Department of Education’s main standardized testing contract for more than a decade -- a contract repeatedly extended without a competitive bidding process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new contract is a new version of that 13-year-old contract; earlier this year, ETS was also awarded a three-year, $38 million contract to oversee English language testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Common Core contract is the one that seems to have raised the most eyebrows -- in large part because ETS’ winning proposal will cost taxpayers $34 million more than the lowest alternative bid.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">\"There’s very little question in my mind that Educational Testing Service was the favorite from the beginning.\" \u003ccite>Doug McRae, retired testing publisher\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Longtime observers said it’s not unusual for education officials to favor known vendors and for the state Board of Education to rubber stamp those staff recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s very little question in my mind that Educational Testing Service was the favorite from the beginning,” said Doug McRae, a retired test publisher who closely follows state education policy and raised questions about whether ETS should have won the newest contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ETS officials sought to capitalize on that that familiarity when they presented their bid to state board members last March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things we’d like you to consider when you are looking at the proposals from these great companies is our track record,” said John Oswald, ETS vice president for K-12 schools. \"Here in California, we obviously have had the advantage that we’ve been here, so you know our work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"vnGU5mAa7a7R0Pb19njbU4BBsPMz3t6H\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a track record of familiarity isn’t the only thing public officials are supposed to be considering when they award taxpayer money. While in this case, the Department of Education was not required by state law to pick the lowest bidder, it was supposed to make the process “open and competitive” -- and make sure the public got the best possible deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keric Ashley, a deputy state superintendent of public instruction, insisted in an interview that the agency did just that, that it considered the “depth and quality” of the proposals as well as the cost to choose a vendor with “the best chance of delivering a successful test contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Ashley said any familiar contractor is going to have a leg up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anytime you have a contractor currently in place and doing activity and they are doing a job well, they are going to have some advantages. I wouldn't call them unfair advantages,” he said. “It’s the same everywhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley admitted that representatives of all three testing companies that bid on the most recent contract met with him and his supervisor prior to the contract being put out to bid -- meetings he described as routine. He insisted that those conversations were only general in nature and didn’t include detailed discussions about how the department would structure its request for bids, known as the request for submissions (RFS).\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"Anytime you have a contractor currently in place and doing activity and they are doing a job well, they are going to have some advantages.\" \u003ccite>Keric Ashley, deputy state superintendent of public instruction\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“We meet fairly regularly with a lot of different vendors,” Ashley said. “We certainly don’t discuss the RFS itself, because we have to maintain not only objectivity but make sure all the test vendors get the same information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when KQED News sought detailed information about those meetings, we came up empty-handed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Proof Hard to Come By\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A public records request only turned up information on a single meeting -- between the deputy superintendent, Ashley, and an official with the low bidding company that lost the contract, Pearson Education. State officials disclosed no records of meetings between ETS and education officials, despite Ashley’s admission in a KQED News interview that at least one meeting occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom Ewing, an ETS spokesman, first said that no such meeting occurred; then, he later admitted that it had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State education officials were more vague. Elizabeth Stein, an attorney for the Department of Education, wrote in an email, “the fact that the search did not uncover a record of a meeting ... that you were told may have taken place does not shed light on whether such a meeting did or did not actually occur, and it would be wrong to draw conclusions or entertain speculation based on the fact that records were not located in our search.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All three companies that bid on the Common Core testing contract retain professional lobbyists in Sacramento, and spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on their advocacy services inside the state Capitol. Ewing, however, said that ETS does not use its firm to lobby for government contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson Education, the rival company that lost out on the contract, did make use of its lobbyist to reach out to Board of Education officials, according to emails disclosed through the public records request. Those emails indicate that Pearson officials met with two members of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ms/mm/\" target=\"_blank\">state Board of Education\u003c/a> but that a third, Sue Burr, wrote that she could not sit down with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am sorry but I have to decline,” she wrote. “All board members have recently been advised by our legal counsel that, due to competitive procurement process for statewide assessments, we should not engage in independent conversations with potential contractors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email was sent in October, a month before the request for bids went out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Winuk, the former FPPC enforcement chief, said those early meetings are troubling, because that’s when a private company can actually exercise the most influence: while the language of a contract proposal is still being drafted, language that can ultimately favor a specific bidder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s really where the process can potentially be manipulated to give someone a leg up,” Winuk said. “If you are building an arena, for example, you (could say) you have to have built another arena in California -- but maybe there is only one company that has ever built an arena in California. That company is going to have an advantage if you have that criteria.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the the case of the state’s Common Core contract, concerns about the internal process extended throughout the bidding process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Pearson officials and McRae, the retired testing executive, took issue with the scoring process used by education officials to evaluate the bids. McRae raised his concerns in public testimony prior to the board's final vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He noted that ETS scored the highest in virtually all of the areas assessed, even though some of its proposals were clearly inferior to those of the other bidder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McRae said other aspects of the scoring also didn’t make sense. For example, he said, Pearson had the lowest cost proposal but was scored number two out of three vendors in that area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson, an international education company, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article17481269.html\" target=\"_blank\">initially threatened to file a lawsuit over the decision\u003c/a> but has since backed off -- meaning ETS appears here to stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if ETS was the best choice, supporters of ethics reform said disclosure laws are really about assuring Californians that they can have confidence that the process is fair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot ethics rules are designed to deal with the issue of trust in government,” Winuk said. “Part of this is help to instill some transparency, some sunshine, so people can really see what’s going on and hopefully get more engaged in the process.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This is one of two stories that look at California's largest lobbying player -- local governments -- and the lack of transparency in how private companies lobby for state government contracts. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/1HJ8E84\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cem>Read Part 1 here.\u003c/em> \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When California education officials \u003ca href=\"http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr15/agenda201505.asp\" target=\"_blank\">awarded\u003c/a> a $240 million, three-year contract to conduct Common Core testing for millions of school children this spring, they said it was an open and competitive process -- and that \u003ca href=\"https://www.ets.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Educational Testing Service\u003c/a>, the winning company, simply had the best proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone agrees the process was so open, nor do they agree that ETS was the clear choice. And several weeks of KQED News questions about the contracting process ended without a full set of answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/219067611&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/219067611'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California's murky disclosure laws make it nearly impossible to know exactly what kinds of work private companies do to influence how thousands of state government contracts are awarded, including whether those same companies seek advantages at every step of the process with behind-the-scenes lobbying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/manuals/7-05lobbymanual.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Existing state law generally limits the disclosure of influence\u003c/a> to anyone being paid to advocate for changes in state law or regulations, the traditional kind of lobbying that’s largely focused around the work of the California Legislature and the executive branch. But a private company looking to influence the awarding of a state contract by one of dozens of state agencies and departments isn’t held to the same standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means conversations between advocates and key decision-makers about the roughly 100,000 state contracts handed out each year -- worth some $12 billion in taxpayer funds in 2014 and an average of $34 billion a year since 2010 -- remain in the shadows, far from public scrutiny. The totals were culled from a\u003ca href=\"http://www.dgs.ca.gov/pd/Programs/eprocure/SCPRSData.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> state Department of General Services database\u003c/a> that does not include contracts worth less than $5,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"600\" height=\"371\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bxPDbzrZzR_7pYIqbmpECMNkadh2qGslcaXtuuPFILk/pubchart?oid=1803940951&format=interactive\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe width=\"600\" height=\"371\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bxPDbzrZzR_7pYIqbmpECMNkadh2qGslcaXtuuPFILk/pubchart?oid=606977930&format=interactive\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003csmall>These numbers were culled from a California Deptartment of General Services database. The totals may be incomplete as DGS depends on departments and agencies to self-report their own totals and doesn't request information on state contracts worth less than $5,000. The numbers represent the total amounts awarded, not paid out, in a calendar year.\u003c/small>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These kinds of conversations are common knowledge among Sacramento insiders. And while many prominent lobbying firms in the capital city even \u003ca href=\"http://www.capitoladvocacy.com/services-solutions/procurement/\" target=\"_blank\">advertise their expertise\u003c/a> in helping to secure lucrative contracts, they are nonetheless allowed to keep that part of their business a secret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gary Winuk, the former chief enforcement officer for \u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">California's Fair Political Practices Commission\u003c/a>, said more than two dozen states and the federal government require disclosure of lobbying efforts to win government contracts. So do nearly all of California’s big cities and counties -- including San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To me it always seemed like a common sense idea,” Winuk said. “The same reason you want it for bills, you want it for (contracts), because you want to see out in the open who’s trying to influence who and if there are any indications that people aren’t working on behalf of the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Winuk helped write a legislative attempt to tackle the issue, \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB1200\" target=\"_blank\">Assembly Bill 1200\u003c/a> by Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), which is pending in the state Senate as legislators return from summer recess next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"You want to see out in the open who’s trying to influence who and if there are any indications that people aren’t working on behalf of the public.” \u003ccite>Gary Winuk, former ethics officer\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>AB 1200 would expand state lobbying disclosure laws to include contracts. If it’s ultimately signed into law, private companies and organizations that hire lobbyists would have to disclose how much they are spending to influence which contracts -- the same way they have to divulge which legislation and regulations they seek to impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone thinks there needs to be more transparency. Jim Sutton, a San Francisco lawyer who works on campaign finance and lobbying issues, said that AB 1200 has “surface appeal,” but won’t really give Californians any more information than they have under existing law. Sutton argues that it’s already clear who wants to influence a contracting process: the companies that bid on the contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You know who is influencing the process,” Sutton said. “You know who the companies are and frankly whether it's through a public records request for emails or the bid itself, you are going to know who is working on it, or if they have hired a lobbyist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That wasn’t our experience, however, when we started digging into the circumstances surrounding the Common Core testing contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>‘They Are Going to Have Some Advantages’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, it wasn’t surprising the California State Board of Education decided to award the Common Core contract to ETS in April. The New Jersey nonprofit has a long and lucrative history with the department, one worth $800 million over the past 15 years. ETS has held the state Department of Education’s main standardized testing contract for more than a decade -- a contract repeatedly extended without a competitive bidding process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new contract is a new version of that 13-year-old contract; earlier this year, ETS was also awarded a three-year, $38 million contract to oversee English language testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Common Core contract is the one that seems to have raised the most eyebrows -- in large part because ETS’ winning proposal will cost taxpayers $34 million more than the lowest alternative bid.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">\"There’s very little question in my mind that Educational Testing Service was the favorite from the beginning.\" \u003ccite>Doug McRae, retired testing publisher\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Longtime observers said it’s not unusual for education officials to favor known vendors and for the state Board of Education to rubber stamp those staff recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s very little question in my mind that Educational Testing Service was the favorite from the beginning,” said Doug McRae, a retired test publisher who closely follows state education policy and raised questions about whether ETS should have won the newest contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ETS officials sought to capitalize on that that familiarity when they presented their bid to state board members last March.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the things we’d like you to consider when you are looking at the proposals from these great companies is our track record,” said John Oswald, ETS vice president for K-12 schools. \"Here in California, we obviously have had the advantage that we’ve been here, so you know our work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a track record of familiarity isn’t the only thing public officials are supposed to be considering when they award taxpayer money. While in this case, the Department of Education was not required by state law to pick the lowest bidder, it was supposed to make the process “open and competitive” -- and make sure the public got the best possible deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Keric Ashley, a deputy state superintendent of public instruction, insisted in an interview that the agency did just that, that it considered the “depth and quality” of the proposals as well as the cost to choose a vendor with “the best chance of delivering a successful test contract.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Ashley said any familiar contractor is going to have a leg up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anytime you have a contractor currently in place and doing activity and they are doing a job well, they are going to have some advantages. I wouldn't call them unfair advantages,” he said. “It’s the same everywhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ashley admitted that representatives of all three testing companies that bid on the most recent contract met with him and his supervisor prior to the contract being put out to bid -- meetings he described as routine. He insisted that those conversations were only general in nature and didn’t include detailed discussions about how the department would structure its request for bids, known as the request for submissions (RFS).\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"Anytime you have a contractor currently in place and doing activity and they are doing a job well, they are going to have some advantages.\" \u003ccite>Keric Ashley, deputy state superintendent of public instruction\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“We meet fairly regularly with a lot of different vendors,” Ashley said. “We certainly don’t discuss the RFS itself, because we have to maintain not only objectivity but make sure all the test vendors get the same information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when KQED News sought detailed information about those meetings, we came up empty-handed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Proof Hard to Come By\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A public records request only turned up information on a single meeting -- between the deputy superintendent, Ashley, and an official with the low bidding company that lost the contract, Pearson Education. State officials disclosed no records of meetings between ETS and education officials, despite Ashley’s admission in a KQED News interview that at least one meeting occurred.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom Ewing, an ETS spokesman, first said that no such meeting occurred; then, he later admitted that it had.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State education officials were more vague. Elizabeth Stein, an attorney for the Department of Education, wrote in an email, “the fact that the search did not uncover a record of a meeting ... that you were told may have taken place does not shed light on whether such a meeting did or did not actually occur, and it would be wrong to draw conclusions or entertain speculation based on the fact that records were not located in our search.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All three companies that bid on the Common Core testing contract retain professional lobbyists in Sacramento, and spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on their advocacy services inside the state Capitol. Ewing, however, said that ETS does not use its firm to lobby for government contracts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson Education, the rival company that lost out on the contract, did make use of its lobbyist to reach out to Board of Education officials, according to emails disclosed through the public records request. Those emails indicate that Pearson officials met with two members of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ms/mm/\" target=\"_blank\">state Board of Education\u003c/a> but that a third, Sue Burr, wrote that she could not sit down with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am sorry but I have to decline,” she wrote. “All board members have recently been advised by our legal counsel that, due to competitive procurement process for statewide assessments, we should not engage in independent conversations with potential contractors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email was sent in October, a month before the request for bids went out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Winuk, the former FPPC enforcement chief, said those early meetings are troubling, because that’s when a private company can actually exercise the most influence: while the language of a contract proposal is still being drafted, language that can ultimately favor a specific bidder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s really where the process can potentially be manipulated to give someone a leg up,” Winuk said. “If you are building an arena, for example, you (could say) you have to have built another arena in California -- but maybe there is only one company that has ever built an arena in California. That company is going to have an advantage if you have that criteria.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the the case of the state’s Common Core contract, concerns about the internal process extended throughout the bidding process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Pearson officials and McRae, the retired testing executive, took issue with the scoring process used by education officials to evaluate the bids. McRae raised his concerns in public testimony prior to the board's final vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He noted that ETS scored the highest in virtually all of the areas assessed, even though some of its proposals were clearly inferior to those of the other bidder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McRae said other aspects of the scoring also didn’t make sense. For example, he said, Pearson had the lowest cost proposal but was scored number two out of three vendors in that area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pearson, an international education company, \u003ca href=\"http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article17481269.html\" target=\"_blank\">initially threatened to file a lawsuit over the decision\u003c/a> but has since backed off -- meaning ETS appears here to stay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if ETS was the best choice, supporters of ethics reform said disclosure laws are really about assuring Californians that they can have confidence that the process is fair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot ethics rules are designed to deal with the issue of trust in government,” Winuk said. “Part of this is help to instill some transparency, some sunshine, so people can really see what’s going on and hopefully get more engaged in the process.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Local Governments Spend Big to Influence Sacramento",
"title": "Local Governments Spend Big to Influence Sacramento",
"headTitle": "Political Muscle | The California Report | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This is one of two stories that look at California's largest lobbying player -- local governments -- and the lack of transparency in how private companies lobby for state government contracts. Read \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/1Paghdv\" target=\"_blank\">Part 2 here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annual scorecards and power rankings rarely take notice of the lobbyists for local governments in California's statehouse, focusing instead on the brawn of business or labor's legion of foot soldiers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when push comes to shove, the biggest player in the effort to influence state government is, in fact, local government -- a flexing of political muscle fueled by tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Everybody's got somebody working the hallways,\" said Kevin Jeffries, a former assemblymember and now a Riverside County supervisor. \"It's always been frustrating for me to see how much taxpayer funds are being diverted from services, and sending that money to the state Capitol so that we can hire lobbyists.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The money spent on lobbying by government agencies -- cities, counties, school districts, water agencies, even rent control boards across the Golden State -- consistently ranks at or near the top of the heap. Recent state filings show the government sector spent $22.3 million on lobbying and influence efforts in the first six months of 2015, on top of the $87.8 million spent in the previous two year legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10642077\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-800x866.png\" alt=\"Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder(1)\" width=\"800\" height=\"866\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-800x866.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-400x433.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-1180x1278.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-960x1040.png 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local governments dominate the lobbying sweepstakes. Since January 2013, they have collectively shelled out more than double what oil and gas companies spent on Sacramento lobbying, and more than 10 times what's being spent by the state's agriculture industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In numerous interviews with community officials and statehouse lobbyists, one thing seems clear: Local governments feel they can't afford to miss the action, or the chance to defend their interests, when it comes to California's legislative and executive branches of government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'Information Is Influence'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The game has changed so dramatically,\" said Robert Doyle, general manager of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebparks.org/\" target=\"_blank\">East Bay Regional Parks District\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong>Top Government Lobbying Spending, 2013-Now\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n1. Los Angeles County, \u003cstrong>$3.76 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n2. California State Association of Counties, \u003cstrong>$3.64 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n3. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, \u003cstrong>$3.28 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n4. League of California Cities, \u003cstrong>$3.17 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n5. City of Los Angeles, \u003cstrong>$2.82 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n6. Alameda County, \u003cstrong>$2.69 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n7. Orange County, \u003cstrong>$2.61 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n8. San Diego County, \u003cstrong>$2.55 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n9. San Bernardino County, \u003cstrong>$2.48 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n10. Rural County Representatives of California, \u003cstrong>$2.43 million\u003c/strong>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Doyle, a frequent visitor to the state Capitol to testify before legislative committees, is also a staunch defender of \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1143093&session=2015\" target=\"_blank\">the district's spending on professional lobbyists\u003c/a> -- roughly $300,000 per legislative session, almost $1 million since 2009. He argues that without that lobbying, the district's parks would have suffered in an era of term-limited legislators and recession-depleted state coffers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Getting any type of state support has become far more competitive,\" Doyle said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sentiment reverberates down in the small city of Imperial, too, just some 12 miles from the Mexico border. Home to about 17,446, according to state population estimates, Imperial lands in the top ten of a KQED News analysis of government lobbying, per capita, since 2013 -- more than $10 spent for every city resident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If the city wants to have an equal voice, then we need to be able to come up with that money,\" said City Manager Marlene Best about Imperial's advocacy. \"Information is influence. You know, face-to-face meetings provide some influence.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Layers of Locally Funded Lobbying\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, a California citizen can be represented by layers of lobbyists hired by subsets of local and regional government, a layering of advocacy that makes both the actual spending and its relative value hard to track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of Los Angeles, for example, pays three lobbying firms for representation in Sacramento at a total cost this year, to date, \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1146829&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">of more than $506,000\u003c/a>. But lobbyists have also been hired by City Attorney Mike Feuer (a former assemblymember), who has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1251724&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">paid more than $95,000 for his own lobbying services\u003c/a> -- lobbyists and payments to advocacy groups -- through June 30.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So why does Feuer need his own hired guns?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Because of the vast impact of legislation in Sacramento on the work of our office, it is important that we have a presence in the Capitol,\" said Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee's office has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1146984&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">paid $115,000 this year for its own lobbyists\u003c/a>, and the city/county transportation authority has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1143848&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">paid its lobbyists $26,200\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=\"0VUmzTFk2RjR9uxMY0fPT8XQKhJXBoQA\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smaller local agencies have also bulked up on influence in Sacramento. The police department of Lemoore (Kings County) has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1366604&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">its own lobbyist\u003c/a>. So does the \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1143026&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">Santa Monica Rent Control Board\u003c/a>. In all, some \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/List.aspx?view=detail&id=40305&session=2015\" target=\"_blank\">325 different agencies of local government in California\u003c/a> have reported paying for advocacy in Sacramento during the first six months of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The local agencies that hire lobbying firms often make additional payments (known as \"payments to influence\") to statewide associations, which, in turn, then also lobby the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The single biggest spending government lobbying group, the California State Association of Counties (\u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1146817&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">$529,349 in 2015\u003c/a>) is funded by dues collected from all 58 counties. Other associations represent law enforcement, tax assessors and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the taxpayer dollars are being spent, says Riverside County's Jeffries, for one simple reason: to block adverse action by state lawmakers, action that may add new burdens or expenses for local officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You have to have your foot inside the door in the Legislature if you want to try to protect yourself from getting steamrolled,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218925365\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lobbying Dollars: An 'Investment'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That fear, as well as the hope of winning lucrative contracts or grants, drives many local officials to enlist the services of statehouse lobbyists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Glendale does not currently have an active presence at the state level,\" wrote Glendale city staffers in \u003ca href=\"http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/government/council_packets/Reports_082013/CC_SpMtg_Item3_082013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">their 2013 recommendation to hire a private lobbying firm\u003c/a>. \"As such, it does not have representation at the state Capitol that can help the city gain support from key public officials and policy makers on decisions that directly impact the city.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong>Highest City Government Lobbying Spending, Per Capita 2013-Now\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n1. City of Vernon, \u003cstrong>$2,920.93\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n2. City of Industry, \u003cstrong>$727.45\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n3. City of Del Mar, \u003cstrong>$28.12\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n4. City of Emeryville, \u003cstrong>$22.51\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n5. City of Malibu, \u003cstrong>$22.82\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n6. City of Indian Wells, \u003cstrong>$17.42\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n7. City of Wheatland, \u003cstrong>$16.62\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n8. City of Signal Hill, \u003cstrong>$10.59\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n9. City of Imperial, \u003cstrong>$10.20\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n10. City of Commerce, \u003cstrong>$7.33\u003c/strong>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Lobbying firms, too, know what local governments want.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have unmatched access to the governor's administration, California Legislature, Coastal Commission, and other state agencies,\" wrote employees of one prominent firm, Platinum Advisors, in its unsuccessful bid for the lobbying contract of Sacramento County in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are no rules to prohibit using taxpayer dollars to hire professional lobbyists. And the rates paid by local agencies vary; some lobbying firms charge a flat fee regardless of the local community's size, while others appear to somewhat scale their rates. Some local governments -- mostly smaller cities -- have dropped their lobbying efforts in recent years, and others have sporadically hired advocates as needs arose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But most seem to pay for the representation year in and year out. And a number of local officials argue that it's a solid investment with proven returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Doyle, East Bay Regional Park District's general manager, says the agency has easily made back $10 for every dollar it's spent on lobbying. He points, in particular, to a $13 million wildlife conservation grant and even a fire truck from the state for the park district's firefighting operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That's a pretty good investment,\" said Doyle.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How much are local governments spending on lobbying services?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Search for your local government and agencies below to see how much money they’re spending on lobbying and \"payments to influence\" the state government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[lobbyingGovtdata]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The total amount spent reflects reports from the 10 quarters between January of 2013 and June of 2015. The population numbers are from the\u003ca href=\"http://www.census.gov/popest/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"> 2013 Census Population Estimates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Guy Marzorati and Lisa Pickoff-White led the data analysis for this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Local governments in California have spent $110 million since 2013 in taxpayer funds to lobby Sacramento.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This is one of two stories that look at California's largest lobbying player -- local governments -- and the lack of transparency in how private companies lobby for state government contracts. Read \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/1Paghdv\" target=\"_blank\">Part 2 here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Annual scorecards and power rankings rarely take notice of the lobbyists for local governments in California's statehouse, focusing instead on the brawn of business or labor's legion of foot soldiers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when push comes to shove, the biggest player in the effort to influence state government is, in fact, local government -- a flexing of political muscle fueled by tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Everybody's got somebody working the hallways,\" said Kevin Jeffries, a former assemblymember and now a Riverside County supervisor. \"It's always been frustrating for me to see how much taxpayer funds are being diverted from services, and sending that money to the state Capitol so that we can hire lobbyists.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The money spent on lobbying by government agencies -- cities, counties, school districts, water agencies, even rent control boards across the Golden State -- consistently ranks at or near the top of the heap. Recent state filings show the government sector spent $22.3 million on lobbying and influence efforts in the first six months of 2015, on top of the $87.8 million spent in the previous two year legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1.png\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-10642077\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-800x866.png\" alt=\"Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder(1)\" width=\"800\" height=\"866\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-800x866.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-400x433.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-1180x1278.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1-960x1040.png 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/08/Amount_spent_on_lobbying_from_2013-15_by_sector_Dollars_chartbuilder1.png 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local governments dominate the lobbying sweepstakes. Since January 2013, they have collectively shelled out more than double what oil and gas companies spent on Sacramento lobbying, and more than 10 times what's being spent by the state's agriculture industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In numerous interviews with community officials and statehouse lobbyists, one thing seems clear: Local governments feel they can't afford to miss the action, or the chance to defend their interests, when it comes to California's legislative and executive branches of government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>'Information Is Influence'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The game has changed so dramatically,\" said Robert Doyle, general manager of the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebparks.org/\" target=\"_blank\">East Bay Regional Parks District\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong>Top Government Lobbying Spending, 2013-Now\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n1. Los Angeles County, \u003cstrong>$3.76 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n2. California State Association of Counties, \u003cstrong>$3.64 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n3. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, \u003cstrong>$3.28 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n4. League of California Cities, \u003cstrong>$3.17 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n5. City of Los Angeles, \u003cstrong>$2.82 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n6. Alameda County, \u003cstrong>$2.69 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n7. Orange County, \u003cstrong>$2.61 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n8. San Diego County, \u003cstrong>$2.55 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n9. San Bernardino County, \u003cstrong>$2.48 million\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n10. Rural County Representatives of California, \u003cstrong>$2.43 million\u003c/strong>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Doyle, a frequent visitor to the state Capitol to testify before legislative committees, is also a staunch defender of \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1143093&session=2015\" target=\"_blank\">the district's spending on professional lobbyists\u003c/a> -- roughly $300,000 per legislative session, almost $1 million since 2009. He argues that without that lobbying, the district's parks would have suffered in an era of term-limited legislators and recession-depleted state coffers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Getting any type of state support has become far more competitive,\" Doyle said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That sentiment reverberates down in the small city of Imperial, too, just some 12 miles from the Mexico border. Home to about 17,446, according to state population estimates, Imperial lands in the top ten of a KQED News analysis of government lobbying, per capita, since 2013 -- more than $10 spent for every city resident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If the city wants to have an equal voice, then we need to be able to come up with that money,\" said City Manager Marlene Best about Imperial's advocacy. \"Information is influence. You know, face-to-face meetings provide some influence.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Layers of Locally Funded Lobbying\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many cases, a California citizen can be represented by layers of lobbyists hired by subsets of local and regional government, a layering of advocacy that makes both the actual spending and its relative value hard to track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city of Los Angeles, for example, pays three lobbying firms for representation in Sacramento at a total cost this year, to date, \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1146829&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">of more than $506,000\u003c/a>. But lobbyists have also been hired by City Attorney Mike Feuer (a former assemblymember), who has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1251724&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">paid more than $95,000 for his own lobbying services\u003c/a> -- lobbyists and payments to advocacy groups -- through June 30.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So why does Feuer need his own hired guns?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Because of the vast impact of legislation in Sacramento on the work of our office, it is important that we have a presence in the Capitol,\" said Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee's office has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1146984&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">paid $115,000 this year for its own lobbyists\u003c/a>, and the city/county transportation authority has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1143848&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">paid its lobbyists $26,200\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smaller local agencies have also bulked up on influence in Sacramento. The police department of Lemoore (Kings County) has \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1366604&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">its own lobbyist\u003c/a>. So does the \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1143026&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">Santa Monica Rent Control Board\u003c/a>. In all, some \u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/List.aspx?view=detail&id=40305&session=2015\" target=\"_blank\">325 different agencies of local government in California\u003c/a> have reported paying for advocacy in Sacramento during the first six months of this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The local agencies that hire lobbying firms often make additional payments (known as \"payments to influence\") to statewide associations, which, in turn, then also lobby the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The single biggest spending government lobbying group, the California State Association of Counties (\u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Lobbying/Employers/Detail.aspx?id=1146817&session=2015&view=activity\" target=\"_blank\">$529,349 in 2015\u003c/a>) is funded by dues collected from all 58 counties. Other associations represent law enforcement, tax assessors and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the taxpayer dollars are being spent, says Riverside County's Jeffries, for one simple reason: to block adverse action by state lawmakers, action that may add new burdens or expenses for local officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You have to have your foot inside the door in the Legislature if you want to try to protect yourself from getting steamrolled,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218925365&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/218925365'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Lobbying Dollars: An 'Investment'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That fear, as well as the hope of winning lucrative contracts or grants, drives many local officials to enlist the services of statehouse lobbyists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Glendale does not currently have an active presence at the state level,\" wrote Glendale city staffers in \u003ca href=\"http://www.ci.glendale.ca.us/government/council_packets/Reports_082013/CC_SpMtg_Item3_082013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">their 2013 recommendation to hire a private lobbying firm\u003c/a>. \"As such, it does not have representation at the state Capitol that can help the city gain support from key public officials and policy makers on decisions that directly impact the city.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003cstrong>Highest City Government Lobbying Spending, Per Capita 2013-Now\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n1. City of Vernon, \u003cstrong>$2,920.93\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n2. City of Industry, \u003cstrong>$727.45\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n3. City of Del Mar, \u003cstrong>$28.12\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n4. City of Emeryville, \u003cstrong>$22.51\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n5. City of Malibu, \u003cstrong>$22.82\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n6. City of Indian Wells, \u003cstrong>$17.42\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n7. City of Wheatland, \u003cstrong>$16.62\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n8. City of Signal Hill, \u003cstrong>$10.59\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n9. City of Imperial, \u003cstrong>$10.20\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n10. City of Commerce, \u003cstrong>$7.33\u003c/strong>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Lobbying firms, too, know what local governments want.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have unmatched access to the governor's administration, California Legislature, Coastal Commission, and other state agencies,\" wrote employees of one prominent firm, Platinum Advisors, in its unsuccessful bid for the lobbying contract of Sacramento County in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are no rules to prohibit using taxpayer dollars to hire professional lobbyists. And the rates paid by local agencies vary; some lobbying firms charge a flat fee regardless of the local community's size, while others appear to somewhat scale their rates. Some local governments -- mostly smaller cities -- have dropped their lobbying efforts in recent years, and others have sporadically hired advocates as needs arose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But most seem to pay for the representation year in and year out. And a number of local officials argue that it's a solid investment with proven returns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Doyle, East Bay Regional Park District's general manager, says the agency has easily made back $10 for every dollar it's spent on lobbying. He points, in particular, to a $13 million wildlife conservation grant and even a fire truck from the state for the park district's firefighting operation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That's a pretty good investment,\" said Doyle.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How much are local governments spending on lobbying services?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Search for your local government and agencies below to see how much money they’re spending on lobbying and \"payments to influence\" the state government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[lobbyingGovtdata]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The total amount spent reflects reports from the 10 quarters between January of 2013 and June of 2015. The population numbers are from the\u003ca href=\"http://www.census.gov/popest/index.html\" target=\"_blank\"> 2013 Census Population Estimates\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Guy Marzorati and Lisa Pickoff-White led the data analysis for this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "we-ask-california-legislators-do-you-help-draft-bills-for-influential-groups",
"title": "We Ask California Legislators: Do You Help Draft Bills for Influential Groups?",
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"headTitle": "We Ask California Legislators: Do You Help Draft Bills for Influential Groups? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>July 27: Well, score one for secrecy. For some eight weeks, we’ve been asking every state legislator whether they help draft “unbacked” bills. As of today, we’ve decided to consider the question answered. Sort of. Only 17 legislators gave us some kind of response, most of them not very specific. But the rest — that’s 86 percent, folks — simply refused to respond to a bevy of phone calls and emails. Every legislator is now listed below; see it for yourself.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple state Capitol sources will confirm, quite comfortably as long as they aren’t on the record, that legislators routinely ask their own lawyers — at taxpayer expense — to privately draft bills for influential groups and lobbyists, bills those powerful players can then attempt to inject into the legislative bloodstream at just the right time for quick action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But saying it on the record? That’s a different story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late April, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/20/details-hidden-on-california-legislature-lawyers-drafting-bills-for-influential-groups/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Office of the Legislative Counsel\u003c/a> denied a KQED News request for data pertaining to unbacked bills, draft laws that have no official author — no legislative backer — in either the Assembly or Senate. The request wasn’t for the contents of those bills, knowing that would likely spark questions of attorney-client privilege; rather, it was simply a request for data on how many unbacked bills had been drafted in the 2013-14 legislative session, and data on how many per legislator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lobbyists and legislative staffers alike defend the existence of unbacked bills as a way to ensure laws are written better, and they say there’s virtue in a legislator helping a like-minded group get its ideas onto paper. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question asked, though, wasn’t whether unbacked bills are bad, but why their existence — part of the way influence can open doors unavailable to those without political muscle — shouldn’t be disclosed. After all, if there are good reasons for having legislative lawyers draft bills for outside groups, then surely there’s no reason not to reveal how many of these requests are made, and for whom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/265935849/Unbacked-Bills-KQED-News-Request-for-Records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">her April 27 letter denying KQED News’ request\u003c/a>, Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine said neither the \u003ca href=\"http://assembly.ca.gov/legislativeopenrecordsact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Legislative Open Records Act\u003c/a> nor the \u003ca href=\"http://www.thefirstamendment.org/publicrecordsact.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Public Records Act\u003c/a> requires disclosure of any records that might exist detailing the requests of lawmakers and their staff to draft legislation, even if the records pertained to prior years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any other responsive records,” aside from bills that had been formally introduced and debated, wrote Boyer-Vine and her deputy, Aaron Silva, “will not be produced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”DJt5nZDcDUFQoygUAhsWG70dt2SBmUw5″]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) nor Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) responded to requests to comment or whether they would ask the Legislature’s lawyers to disclose the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which leaves individual members of the California Senate and Assembly: Will any of them voluntarily disclose information about how many unbacked bills were sent to the lawyers for drafting, and on whose behalf?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mostly, the answer is: No.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below is the result of phone calls and emails made by KQED News to the offices of all 120 legislators, asking for information about unbacked bills. (The list is a work in progress, and will continue to be updated as more legislators respond to the request.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some are willing to explain their actions in general terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do put in requests for legislation at the request of lobbyists or organizations we represent,” said Kirk Kimmelshue, chief of staff to Assemblyman Frank Bigelow (R-Madera County). “Typically they are bills that the assemblyman is interested in carrying, but we aren’t sure we can commit to introducing at the time requests need to be made to Legislative Counsel. For that purpose, we put them in unbacked and that way the sponsor can utilize the language with a different author if we are unable to introduce the bill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a common opinion; getting the bill drafted then allows an interest group or its lobbyists to “shop” for an author, someone who will take what would then likely be a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/04/16/political-muscle-of-california-powerful-often-means-writing-your-own-legislation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sponsored bill\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One chief of staff to a Democratic legislator, who asked not to be identified by name, said all of the lawmaker’s bills are submitted “unbacked,” and that the lawmaker doesn’t officially sign on to anything until the bill language is received.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But of the staff who have confirmed that their legislator boss has submitted unbacked bills to the Legislative Counsel, none will say on whose behalf they did so. And the majority of legislative spokespeople have, so far, responded with a refusal to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not disclose such information,” said Ronald Ongtoaboc, communications director for state Sen. Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our office has attorney-client privilege with matters involving the Office of Legislative Counsel,” said Ali Bay, press secretary to state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), “and the information you have asked for falls under that privilege.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Guy Marzorati and Lisa Pickoff-White contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[sc:UnbackedBillCode ]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>July 27: Well, score one for secrecy. For some eight weeks, we’ve been asking every state legislator whether they help draft “unbacked” bills. As of today, we’ve decided to consider the question answered. Sort of. Only 17 legislators gave us some kind of response, most of them not very specific. But the rest — that’s 86 percent, folks — simply refused to respond to a bevy of phone calls and emails. Every legislator is now listed below; see it for yourself.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple state Capitol sources will confirm, quite comfortably as long as they aren’t on the record, that legislators routinely ask their own lawyers — at taxpayer expense — to privately draft bills for influential groups and lobbyists, bills those powerful players can then attempt to inject into the legislative bloodstream at just the right time for quick action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But saying it on the record? That’s a different story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late April, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/05/20/details-hidden-on-california-legislature-lawyers-drafting-bills-for-influential-groups/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Office of the Legislative Counsel\u003c/a> denied a KQED News request for data pertaining to unbacked bills, draft laws that have no official author — no legislative backer — in either the Assembly or Senate. The request wasn’t for the contents of those bills, knowing that would likely spark questions of attorney-client privilege; rather, it was simply a request for data on how many unbacked bills had been drafted in the 2013-14 legislative session, and data on how many per legislator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lobbyists and legislative staffers alike defend the existence of unbacked bills as a way to ensure laws are written better, and they say there’s virtue in a legislator helping a like-minded group get its ideas onto paper. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question asked, though, wasn’t whether unbacked bills are bad, but why their existence — part of the way influence can open doors unavailable to those without political muscle — shouldn’t be disclosed. After all, if there are good reasons for having legislative lawyers draft bills for outside groups, then surely there’s no reason not to reveal how many of these requests are made, and for whom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/doc/265935849/Unbacked-Bills-KQED-News-Request-for-Records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">her April 27 letter denying KQED News’ request\u003c/a>, Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine said neither the \u003ca href=\"http://assembly.ca.gov/legislativeopenrecordsact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Legislative Open Records Act\u003c/a> nor the \u003ca href=\"http://www.thefirstamendment.org/publicrecordsact.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Public Records Act\u003c/a> requires disclosure of any records that might exist detailing the requests of lawmakers and their staff to draft legislation, even if the records pertained to prior years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any other responsive records,” aside from bills that had been formally introduced and debated, wrote Boyer-Vine and her deputy, Aaron Silva, “will not be produced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) nor Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) responded to requests to comment or whether they would ask the Legislature’s lawyers to disclose the information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which leaves individual members of the California Senate and Assembly: Will any of them voluntarily disclose information about how many unbacked bills were sent to the lawyers for drafting, and on whose behalf?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mostly, the answer is: No.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below is the result of phone calls and emails made by KQED News to the offices of all 120 legislators, asking for information about unbacked bills. (The list is a work in progress, and will continue to be updated as more legislators respond to the request.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some are willing to explain their actions in general terms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do put in requests for legislation at the request of lobbyists or organizations we represent,” said Kirk Kimmelshue, chief of staff to Assemblyman Frank Bigelow (R-Madera County). “Typically they are bills that the assemblyman is interested in carrying, but we aren’t sure we can commit to introducing at the time requests need to be made to Legislative Counsel. For that purpose, we put them in unbacked and that way the sponsor can utilize the language with a different author if we are unable to introduce the bill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a common opinion; getting the bill drafted then allows an interest group or its lobbyists to “shop” for an author, someone who will take what would then likely be a \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/04/16/political-muscle-of-california-powerful-often-means-writing-your-own-legislation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sponsored bill\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One chief of staff to a Democratic legislator, who asked not to be identified by name, said all of the lawmaker’s bills are submitted “unbacked,” and that the lawmaker doesn’t officially sign on to anything until the bill language is received.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But of the staff who have confirmed that their legislator boss has submitted unbacked bills to the Legislative Counsel, none will say on whose behalf they did so. And the majority of legislative spokespeople have, so far, responded with a refusal to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do not disclose such information,” said Ronald Ongtoaboc, communications director for state Sen. Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our office has attorney-client privilege with matters involving the Office of Legislative Counsel,” said Ali Bay, press secretary to state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), “and the information you have asked for falls under that privilege.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Guy Marzorati and Lisa Pickoff-White contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[sc:UnbackedBillCode ]\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The work of the Office of Legislative Counsel is the ultimate seal of approval in Sacramento, an indispensable step for any proposal that becomes law in California — and perhaps why lobbyists and interest groups often privately ask legislators to have the taxpayer-funded lawyers draft bills for them, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those requests are known as “unbacked bills,” a term that broadly refers to draft laws with no guarantee of being introduced in either house of the Legislature. While some of these bills quickly find their way into the legislative bloodstream, others linger behind the scenes for weeks or months as part of the state Capitol’s opaque political currency, instantly ready for a public vote on any given day if the opportunity should arise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one denies the existence of these bills, but few will discuss either their content or their frequency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/206376828″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unbacked bills are, in some ways, ghost bills that can come to life at any time in the process,” said Shaudi Falamaki Fulp, a former lobbyist who now works as a political and public affairs strategist. “The proposal will actually be drafted in legislative form, but it won’t be introduced with an author or a bill number.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interviews with a number of Capitol insiders, none of whom would speak on the record, portray the unbacked bills system as one with very few limits and in which legislative staffers sometimes submit proposals for vetting that their elected bosses would never publicly endorse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As such, it’s also a system that neither the Legislature’s lawyers nor its two leaders will discuss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No Limits On Unbacked Bills Submitted For Drafting?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the Assembly and Senate are limited to 40 introduced bills in any two-year session, but there are no limits on how many bills can be submitted for drafting to the Legislative Counsel’s attorneys. The system allows legislators flexibility, say some staffers, in order to better craft smart policies\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the process is also accessed by lobbyists, via legislative officials, who seek the help of the government’s bill-writing experts. Legislative staffers and lobbyists, who spoke with KQED News on the condition that they not be identified, say an unbacked bill that comes back from Legislative Counsel may be “shopped” around in search of a different Assembly member or senator who’s willing to introduce it. Or, say insiders, these unpublicized bills are held onto for any possible opening a lobbyist or interest group might see — including 11th-hour maneuvers before the Legislature adjourns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That lack of transparency poses problems, say some observers, for understanding where laws are coming from and who they benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Legislators are outsourcing their jobs to people in the shadows that we don’t know,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor of governance and ethics at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “I think the least they can do is give the public some information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Requests For Information Denied\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To better understand the process, KQED News asked legislative leaders and the \u003ca href=\"http://legislativecounsel.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Office of the Legislative Counsel\u003c/a> for aggregate data on how many unbacked bills were drafted in the 2013-14 session in Sacramento, as well as how many unbacked bills had been requested by each member of the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The requests were turned down. Legislative lawyers responded by saying any such information is exempt from the \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=09001-10000&file=9070-9080\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Legislative Open Records Act\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.thefirstamendment.org/publicrecordsact.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Public Records Act\u003c/a>, laws that were ostensibly designed to ensure government records be made public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re afraid of establishing some kind of precedent,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the \u003ca href=\"http://firstamendmentcoalition.org/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nonprofit First Amendment Coalition, based in San Rafael\u003c/a>, about the refusal to release information on unbacked bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re afraid that if they allow that information to come out, God knows, they might have to be more forthcoming about how they spend their time and the people’s money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Requests were also made of both Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) to either provide information or to weigh in on whether the records about unbacked bills should be released. Neither legislative leader responded to that request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The anecdotes offered in numerous background conversations with legislative staffers suggest that while some offices ask attorneys to craft very few unbacked bills, others make requests by the dozens. And in some cases, say both staffers and lobbyists, an elected official may have little or no role in a staffer accepting a lobbyist’s request to have the proposed law vetted by taxpayer attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s general agreement that unbacked bills can serve a valuable service for less influential groups that don’t have the legal expertise to draft a bill. But it seems clear that powerful interest groups also ask for unbacked bills, and sometimes even multiple versions on the same topic, as a way of hedging their bets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those well-prepared lobbyists who have a Plan B and C will draft numerous versions and submit it through a legislative office,” said Falamaki Fulp, “to make sure that they’re ready when the opportunity presents itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exactly how much work these unbacked bills requires of the Legislative Counsel is unclear. Overall, the office — which not only drafts legislation but also offers more general legal advice — has seen its annual operating budget rise steadily. In the fiscal year that ends on June 30, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2014-15/Enacted/StateAgencyBudgets/0010/0160/department.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Legislative Counsel is expected to spend $92.7 million\u003c/a> to provide legal services for lawmakers; that’s up from \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2009-10-EN/Enacted/StateAgencyBudgets/0010/0160/department.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$81 million just five years ago\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aggregate data that was requested — that is, total numbers of bills drafted over a two-year legislative session — might have offered some way to compare the total output from the Legislature’s lawyers with the number of bills introduced (4,800 in the 2013-14 session).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their April 27 rejection of KQED News’ records request, Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine and Chief Deputy Aaron Silva wouldn’t say whether any records existed — simply that any records that were germane “will not be produced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>See below for the KQED News correspondence with the Office of Legislative Counsel regarding information on unbacked bills drafted in the 2013-14 legislative session.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[scribd id=265935849 key=key-pTA3MXe9M3gSauMKo61N mode=scroll]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The work of the Office of Legislative Counsel is the ultimate seal of approval in Sacramento, an indispensable step for any proposal that becomes law in California — and perhaps why lobbyists and interest groups often privately ask legislators to have the taxpayer-funded lawyers draft bills for them, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those requests are known as “unbacked bills,” a term that broadly refers to draft laws with no guarantee of being introduced in either house of the Legislature. While some of these bills quickly find their way into the legislative bloodstream, others linger behind the scenes for weeks or months as part of the state Capitol’s opaque political currency, instantly ready for a public vote on any given day if the opportunity should arise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No one denies the existence of these bills, but few will discuss either their content or their frequency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='”100%”' height='”166″'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/206376828″&visual=true&”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false”'\n title='”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/206376828″'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unbacked bills are, in some ways, ghost bills that can come to life at any time in the process,” said Shaudi Falamaki Fulp, a former lobbyist who now works as a political and public affairs strategist. “The proposal will actually be drafted in legislative form, but it won’t be introduced with an author or a bill number.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Interviews with a number of Capitol insiders, none of whom would speak on the record, portray the unbacked bills system as one with very few limits and in which legislative staffers sometimes submit proposals for vetting that their elected bosses would never publicly endorse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As such, it’s also a system that neither the Legislature’s lawyers nor its two leaders will discuss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No Limits On Unbacked Bills Submitted For Drafting?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the Assembly and Senate are limited to 40 introduced bills in any two-year session, but there are no limits on how many bills can be submitted for drafting to the Legislative Counsel’s attorneys. The system allows legislators flexibility, say some staffers, in order to better craft smart policies\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the process is also accessed by lobbyists, via legislative officials, who seek the help of the government’s bill-writing experts. Legislative staffers and lobbyists, who spoke with KQED News on the condition that they not be identified, say an unbacked bill that comes back from Legislative Counsel may be “shopped” around in search of a different Assembly member or senator who’s willing to introduce it. Or, say insiders, these unpublicized bills are held onto for any possible opening a lobbyist or interest group might see — including 11th-hour maneuvers before the Legislature adjourns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That lack of transparency poses problems, say some observers, for understanding where laws are coming from and who they benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Legislators are outsourcing their jobs to people in the shadows that we don’t know,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor of governance and ethics at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. “I think the least they can do is give the public some information.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Requests For Information Denied\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To better understand the process, KQED News asked legislative leaders and the \u003ca href=\"http://legislativecounsel.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Office of the Legislative Counsel\u003c/a> for aggregate data on how many unbacked bills were drafted in the 2013-14 session in Sacramento, as well as how many unbacked bills had been requested by each member of the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The requests were turned down. Legislative lawyers responded by saying any such information is exempt from the \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=09001-10000&file=9070-9080\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Legislative Open Records Act\u003c/a> and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.thefirstamendment.org/publicrecordsact.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Public Records Act\u003c/a>, laws that were ostensibly designed to ensure government records be made public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re afraid of establishing some kind of precedent,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the \u003ca href=\"http://firstamendmentcoalition.org/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nonprofit First Amendment Coalition, based in San Rafael\u003c/a>, about the refusal to release information on unbacked bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re afraid that if they allow that information to come out, God knows, they might have to be more forthcoming about how they spend their time and the people’s money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Requests were also made of both Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) to either provide information or to weigh in on whether the records about unbacked bills should be released. Neither legislative leader responded to that request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The anecdotes offered in numerous background conversations with legislative staffers suggest that while some offices ask attorneys to craft very few unbacked bills, others make requests by the dozens. And in some cases, say both staffers and lobbyists, an elected official may have little or no role in a staffer accepting a lobbyist’s request to have the proposed law vetted by taxpayer attorneys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s general agreement that unbacked bills can serve a valuable service for less influential groups that don’t have the legal expertise to draft a bill. But it seems clear that powerful interest groups also ask for unbacked bills, and sometimes even multiple versions on the same topic, as a way of hedging their bets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those well-prepared lobbyists who have a Plan B and C will draft numerous versions and submit it through a legislative office,” said Falamaki Fulp, “to make sure that they’re ready when the opportunity presents itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exactly how much work these unbacked bills requires of the Legislative Counsel is unclear. Overall, the office — which not only drafts legislation but also offers more general legal advice — has seen its annual operating budget rise steadily. In the fiscal year that ends on June 30, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2014-15/Enacted/StateAgencyBudgets/0010/0160/department.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Legislative Counsel is expected to spend $92.7 million\u003c/a> to provide legal services for lawmakers; that’s up from \u003ca href=\"http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2009-10-EN/Enacted/StateAgencyBudgets/0010/0160/department.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$81 million just five years ago\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aggregate data that was requested — that is, total numbers of bills drafted over a two-year legislative session — might have offered some way to compare the total output from the Legislature’s lawyers with the number of bills introduced (4,800 in the 2013-14 session).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In their April 27 rejection of KQED News’ records request, Legislative Counsel Diane Boyer-Vine and Chief Deputy Aaron Silva wouldn’t say whether any records existed — simply that any records that were germane “will not be produced.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>See below for the KQED News correspondence with the Office of Legislative Counsel regarding information on unbacked bills drafted in the 2013-14 legislative session.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"disqusTitle": "California Interest Groups Hedge Their Bets, Give Cash to Anyone In Power",
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"content": "\u003cp>In politics, we hear a lot about groups that back one party or one candidate. Unions for Democrats, business groups for Republicans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Sacramento, political giving from some special interests isn’t that special at all: Many big groups flex their political muscle by simply hedging their bets, spreading money around to both parties -- and in some cases, even both candidates in the same race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reason, say political experts, is the desire to ensure access, plain and simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED News picked four groups that represent a range of interests: telecommunications giant \u003ca href=\"http://www.att.com/\" target=\"_blank\">AT&T\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.car.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians\u003c/a>, and utility behemoth \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pacific Gas & Electric Co\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of recent political giving showed that these entities -- which have given sitting lawmakers a combined $3.2 million since 2012 -- spread their money nearly evenly among Democrats and Republicans, and in many cases gave to both candidates in some of the Legislature’s most contested races.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Many Legislators Accepted Money From these Groups?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"iframeContainer\" style=\"position: relative;width: 80%;max-width: 80% !important;height: 400px;overflow: hidden !important; background-color: #f5f5f5; margin-left: 12% !important\">\n\u003ciframe src=\"http://projects1.kqed.org/swapping-the-bets/index.html\" style=\"position: absolute;top:0;left: 0;width: 100%;height: 100%;\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\n\u003ca href=\"#leg\">View in a sortable database.\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AT&T: Reach Out and Touch ... Everyone\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T gave money to nearly every sitting lawmaker in his or her last election; only four senators and three Assembly members missed out on a contribution from the telecommunications company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T also played both sides of the same contest in some cases, handing out money to competing candidates in a total of 10 Assembly or Senate races. The other groups in this analysis weren’t far behind, generally giving money to between 80 and 90 percent of incumbent lawmakers (the one outlier was PG&E, which gave to only 60 percent of current senators, but 86 percent of Assembly members).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, AT&T directly contributed more than $570,000 to candidates and another $900,000 to the state Democratic and Republican parties between 2012 and 2014. Those amounts don’t include campaign giving by AT&T executives or its other employees. Company officials did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And AT&T is still making its careful bets. Last week, the company gave the maximum allowable to both Susan Bonilla and Steve Glazer in the East Bay’s bitter\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/04/21/most-popular-man-in-east-bay-senate-race-is-jerry-brown/\" target=\"_blank\"> Democrat-versus-Democrat special election\u003c/a> for the state Senate.\u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1007720&view=contributions\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1007720&view=contributions\" target=\"_blank\">Last month, it cut both a $65,000 check\u003c/a> to the California Democratic Party and a $25,000 check to the California Republican Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/bulletin/007-Dec-2014StateContributionLimitsChart.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">State campaign finance limits\u003c/a> to political parties are set at $32,500 per election cycle, while candidates for the Legislature can take only $4,200 from an individual or business. The parties can, in turn, donate unlimited sums to candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Money buys access, and access is critical to influence,” said\u003ca href=\"http://maplight.org/content/staff\" target=\"_blank\"> Dan Newman\u003c/a>, executive director of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"http://maplight.org/\" target=\"_blank\">MapLight\u003c/a>, which analyzes money in politics and assisted KQED News with the analysis. “These companies are regulated by the state of California, and what lawmakers do can have billions of dollars of effects on them. … They are willing to spend money to have the ability to get in front of lawmakers, to make their case and have influence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The political giving included in KQED News’ analysis accounts for only a fraction of the money that groups like these spend trying to influence decision-makers in the state Capitol each year: Over the same two-year period, AT&T spent nearly $4 million on lobbying efforts in Sacramento; PG&E spent $3.7 million; the Pechanga Band shelled out more than $700,000; and the Realtors spent $2.4 million. Those figures include gifts to state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10524502\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10524502\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-800x540.png\" alt=\"Invitation sent out earlier this month for AT&T's annual fundraiser for Assembly Democrats.\" width=\"800\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-800x540.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-400x270.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-1440x971.png 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-1180x796.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-960x647.png 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM.png 1886w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invitation sent out earlier this month for AT&T's annual fundraiser for Assembly Democrats. \u003ccite>(Fundraiser Invitation/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>AT&T also \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/22/local/la-me-att-20120422\" target=\"_blank\">spends hundreds of thousands of dollars every year hosting the Speaker’s Cup at Pebble Beach\u003c/a>, a fundraiser for Assembly Democrats that was held earlier this month. Campaign finance reports from that event haven’t been filed yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The four groups also gave a combined $112,200 to Gov. Jerry Brown in the last election. PG&E gave the most to the governor’s campaign, $54,200 -- just under the maximum allowed by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Supporting 'Friends'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only \u003ca href=\"http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/index.php/tribal-government/pechanga-tribal-council/elected-officials/mark-macarro-tribal-chairman\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Macarro\u003c/a>, chairman of the Pechanga Band in Riverside County, responded to a request for comment. In a written statement, he said that the tribe’s goal in making campaign contributions is to protect “historic tribal rights so that tribes can survive another generation.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“History has demonstrated that avoiding political participation results in catastrophic policies against Native people and our inherent tribal rights. Native American rights and issues are highly diverse and truly nonpartisan. Our issues stretch from gaming policy, to Indian child welfare, to sacred sites protection,” he stated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But why would the tribe give to two legislative candidates running against one another, as in 2014 in both the state’s 28th Senate District (Republican \u003ca href=\"http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/11/05/th-california-senate-election/18521741/\" target=\"_blank\">Jeff Stone and Republican Bonnie Garcia\u003c/a>) and the 34th Senate District (Republican \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-orange-county-senate-seat-20141029-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Janet Nguyen and Democrat Jose Solorio\u003c/a>)?\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">[soundcloud url=\"https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205464748\" params=\"color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" iframe=\"true\" /]\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Term limits and the top-two primary system has sometimes resulted in friends running for the same office,” said Macarro. “In those rare instances we like to support both friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While MapLight’s Newman said it may not make sense to the average voter for someone to make donations to both sides in a race, companies and other influential groups have different considerations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You as a voter are choosing between which candidates to vote for -- for companies it’s different. They are trying to influence government,” he said. “They want access to everybody in power in the Legislature -- to them it doesn’t really matter who’s elected … it’s good for companies, but it's bad for the rest of us and it’s bad for democracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newman said it’s bad because the Legislature ends up being “overly responsive” to these big givers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"http://politicalscience.sfsu.edu/jason-mcdaniel\" target=\"_blank\">Jason McDaniel, \u003c/a>a political science professor at San Francisco State University, said the simple act of giving or taking money isn’t corrupting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The assumption that money buys politics, buys elections is mostly incorrect and I think it’s corrosive to our trust in democracy,” he said, adding that campaign finance is “highly regulated and highly transparent” in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He agreed with Newman, though, that groups hedging their bets are angling for a seat at the table. But McDaniel argues that lawmakers still have a vested interest in generally voting the way in which their constituents expect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think (these groups) recognize their interests are fundamentally at stake in the governmental policy process,\" he said, \"and want to make sure they are on good terms with whoever might be influential in the policy process.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides pure spending power, McDaniel said, groups such as Indian tribes and big business groups have another advantage over citizens: Their interests are narrow, allowing them to to focus their influence in a way individual constituents generally can't.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca name=\"leg\">Methodology and Data\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nKQED News examined campaign finance reports from each Assembly member and senator’s last election committee and the contribution reports filed by the outside organizations. Not included are any contributions made by an employee PAC, or individuals employed by these four organizations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"display: inline-block; width: 100%;\">\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; padding-top: 25px; height: 0;\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"//lisatest.silk.co/s/embed/table/collection/covering-the-bets/column/district/column/party/pin/filter/equals/att/Yes/suggestion/filter/equals/crepac/suggestion/filter/equals/pechenga/suggestion/filter/equals/pge\" style=\"border:0;position: absolute; top:0; left:0; width: 100%;height:100%;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED News producers Guy Marzorati and Lisa Pickoff-White contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In politics, we hear a lot about groups that back one party or one candidate. Unions for Democrats, business groups for Republicans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in Sacramento, political giving from some special interests isn’t that special at all: Many big groups flex their political muscle by simply hedging their bets, spreading money around to both parties -- and in some cases, even both candidates in the same race.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reason, say political experts, is the desire to ensure access, plain and simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED News picked four groups that represent a range of interests: telecommunications giant \u003ca href=\"http://www.att.com/\" target=\"_blank\">AT&T\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.car.org/\" target=\"_blank\">California Association of Realtors\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians\u003c/a>, and utility behemoth \u003ca href=\"http://www.pge.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pacific Gas & Electric Co\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An analysis of recent political giving showed that these entities -- which have given sitting lawmakers a combined $3.2 million since 2012 -- spread their money nearly evenly among Democrats and Republicans, and in many cases gave to both candidates in some of the Legislature’s most contested races.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Many Legislators Accepted Money From these Groups?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"iframeContainer\" style=\"position: relative;width: 80%;max-width: 80% !important;height: 400px;overflow: hidden !important; background-color: #f5f5f5; margin-left: 12% !important\">\n\u003ciframe src=\"http://projects1.kqed.org/swapping-the-bets/index.html\" style=\"position: absolute;top:0;left: 0;width: 100%;height: 100%;\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\n\u003ca href=\"#leg\">View in a sortable database.\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>AT&T: Reach Out and Touch ... Everyone\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T gave money to nearly every sitting lawmaker in his or her last election; only four senators and three Assembly members missed out on a contribution from the telecommunications company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AT&T also played both sides of the same contest in some cases, handing out money to competing candidates in a total of 10 Assembly or Senate races. The other groups in this analysis weren’t far behind, generally giving money to between 80 and 90 percent of incumbent lawmakers (the one outlier was PG&E, which gave to only 60 percent of current senators, but 86 percent of Assembly members).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, AT&T directly contributed more than $570,000 to candidates and another $900,000 to the state Democratic and Republican parties between 2012 and 2014. Those amounts don’t include campaign giving by AT&T executives or its other employees. Company officials did not respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And AT&T is still making its careful bets. Last week, the company gave the maximum allowable to both Susan Bonilla and Steve Glazer in the East Bay’s bitter\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/04/21/most-popular-man-in-east-bay-senate-race-is-jerry-brown/\" target=\"_blank\"> Democrat-versus-Democrat special election\u003c/a> for the state Senate.\u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1007720&view=contributions\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1007720&view=contributions\" target=\"_blank\">Last month, it cut both a $65,000 check\u003c/a> to the California Democratic Party and a $25,000 check to the California Republican Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.fppc.ca.gov/bulletin/007-Dec-2014StateContributionLimitsChart.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">State campaign finance limits\u003c/a> to political parties are set at $32,500 per election cycle, while candidates for the Legislature can take only $4,200 from an individual or business. The parties can, in turn, donate unlimited sums to candidates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Money buys access, and access is critical to influence,” said\u003ca href=\"http://maplight.org/content/staff\" target=\"_blank\"> Dan Newman\u003c/a>, executive director of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"http://maplight.org/\" target=\"_blank\">MapLight\u003c/a>, which analyzes money in politics and assisted KQED News with the analysis. “These companies are regulated by the state of California, and what lawmakers do can have billions of dollars of effects on them. … They are willing to spend money to have the ability to get in front of lawmakers, to make their case and have influence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The political giving included in KQED News’ analysis accounts for only a fraction of the money that groups like these spend trying to influence decision-makers in the state Capitol each year: Over the same two-year period, AT&T spent nearly $4 million on lobbying efforts in Sacramento; PG&E spent $3.7 million; the Pechanga Band shelled out more than $700,000; and the Realtors spent $2.4 million. Those figures include gifts to state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10524502\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-10524502\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-800x540.png\" alt=\"Invitation sent out earlier this month for AT&T's annual fundraiser for Assembly Democrats.\" width=\"800\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-800x540.png 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-400x270.png 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-1440x971.png 1440w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-1180x796.png 1180w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM-960x647.png 960w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2015/05/Screen-Shot-2015-05-13-at-12.27.58-PM.png 1886w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invitation sent out earlier this month for AT&T's annual fundraiser for Assembly Democrats. \u003ccite>(Fundraiser Invitation/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>AT&T also \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/22/local/la-me-att-20120422\" target=\"_blank\">spends hundreds of thousands of dollars every year hosting the Speaker’s Cup at Pebble Beach\u003c/a>, a fundraiser for Assembly Democrats that was held earlier this month. Campaign finance reports from that event haven’t been filed yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The four groups also gave a combined $112,200 to Gov. Jerry Brown in the last election. PG&E gave the most to the governor’s campaign, $54,200 -- just under the maximum allowed by law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Supporting 'Friends'\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only \u003ca href=\"http://www.pechanga-nsn.gov/index.php/tribal-government/pechanga-tribal-council/elected-officials/mark-macarro-tribal-chairman\" target=\"_blank\">Mark Macarro\u003c/a>, chairman of the Pechanga Band in Riverside County, responded to a request for comment. In a written statement, he said that the tribe’s goal in making campaign contributions is to protect “historic tribal rights so that tribes can survive another generation.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“History has demonstrated that avoiding political participation results in catastrophic policies against Native people and our inherent tribal rights. Native American rights and issues are highly diverse and truly nonpartisan. Our issues stretch from gaming policy, to Indian child welfare, to sacred sites protection,” he stated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But why would the tribe give to two legislative candidates running against one another, as in 2014 in both the state’s 28th Senate District (Republican \u003ca href=\"http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/11/05/th-california-senate-election/18521741/\" target=\"_blank\">Jeff Stone and Republican Bonnie Garcia\u003c/a>) and the 34th Senate District (Republican \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-orange-county-senate-seat-20141029-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">Janet Nguyen and Democrat Jose Solorio\u003c/a>)?\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"alignright\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__shortcodes__shortcodeWrapper'>\n \u003ciframe width='100%' height='166'\n scrolling='no' frameborder='no'\n src='https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205464748&visual=true&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false'\n title='https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/205464748'>\n \u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/div>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“Term limits and the top-two primary system has sometimes resulted in friends running for the same office,” said Macarro. “In those rare instances we like to support both friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While MapLight’s Newman said it may not make sense to the average voter for someone to make donations to both sides in a race, companies and other influential groups have different considerations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You as a voter are choosing between which candidates to vote for -- for companies it’s different. They are trying to influence government,” he said. “They want access to everybody in power in the Legislature -- to them it doesn’t really matter who’s elected … it’s good for companies, but it's bad for the rest of us and it’s bad for democracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newman said it’s bad because the Legislature ends up being “overly responsive” to these big givers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"http://politicalscience.sfsu.edu/jason-mcdaniel\" target=\"_blank\">Jason McDaniel, \u003c/a>a political science professor at San Francisco State University, said the simple act of giving or taking money isn’t corrupting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The assumption that money buys politics, buys elections is mostly incorrect and I think it’s corrosive to our trust in democracy,” he said, adding that campaign finance is “highly regulated and highly transparent” in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He agreed with Newman, though, that groups hedging their bets are angling for a seat at the table. But McDaniel argues that lawmakers still have a vested interest in generally voting the way in which their constituents expect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think (these groups) recognize their interests are fundamentally at stake in the governmental policy process,\" he said, \"and want to make sure they are on good terms with whoever might be influential in the policy process.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides pure spending power, McDaniel said, groups such as Indian tribes and big business groups have another advantage over citizens: Their interests are narrow, allowing them to to focus their influence in a way individual constituents generally can't.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca name=\"leg\">Methodology and Data\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nKQED News examined campaign finance reports from each Assembly member and senator’s last election committee and the contribution reports filed by the outside organizations. Not included are any contributions made by an employee PAC, or individuals employed by these four organizations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv style=\"display: inline-block; width: 100%;\">\n\u003cdiv style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 100%; padding-top: 25px; height: 0;\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"//lisatest.silk.co/s/embed/table/collection/covering-the-bets/column/district/column/party/pin/filter/equals/att/Yes/suggestion/filter/equals/crepac/suggestion/filter/equals/pechenga/suggestion/filter/equals/pge\" style=\"border:0;position: absolute; top:0; left:0; width: 100%;height:100%;\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"source": "npr"
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
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